2012 is likely to be a very interesting year for agricultural policy as we face the writing of a new Farm Bill during a presidential election year with a huge federal deficit. Since the GROWMARK cooperative system represents the interests of farmers on the federal level, I talked with GROWMARK government affairs director Chuck Spencer to get his perspective on …
Vilsack Talks Farm Bill at John Deere
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack chose the John Deere Des Moines Works facility to talk about his priorities for the 2012 Farm Bill, which he says is really a misnomer. “After all, for decades this bill has been about a whole lot more than just farming. It’s been about energy, it’s been about nutrition, it’s been about jobs. Now, some may …
National Corn Growers Unveils Farm Bill Proposal
The National Corn Growers Association has officially unveiled its idea for a new disaster assistance title in the next farm bill. NCGA is proposing the Agriculture Disaster Assistance Program (ADAP) “that will modify and replace the existing Average Crop Revenue Election Program and provide a more effective and responsive safety net for growers.” “Responding to a charge by our voting …
Politics at Farm Progress
Farm Progress Show is always a great venue for policy makers to meet with farmers and talk about issues important to them, like a new farm bill and government regulations. National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) First Vice President Garry Niemeyer brought his own U.S. Representative Bobby Schilling (R-IL) in for a press conference on Tuesday to share some of perspectives …
Farm Bill Hearing In Kansas Next Week
I’ll bet we see this look a lot next week when the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry holds a hearing titled, “Looking Ahead: Kansas and the 2012 Farm Bill.” Ranking committee member Senator Pat Roberts will be hosting. He sort of set the tone for the hearing in a letter to President Obama in advance of next week’s …