The Senate Agriculture Committee heard testimony from farmers and farm organizations Thursday on risk management priorities for the 2012 Farm Bill. Among those who testified was National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) First Vice President Pam Johnson. “NCGA has invested time and resources to develop and analyze concepts for a new farm bill that would help farmers in times of need …
We Need Both RFS and Farm Bill According to Senator Stabenow
Addressing the attendees to the Agri-Pulse reception last night was Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwomen, U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. I visited with her briefly after her remarks. I first asked her what she thought about the importance of the work that’s being done by groups like USFRA which held a Food Dialogues event prior to the reception. …
Senator Pat Roberts Just Tells It Like It Is
The Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, Senator Pat Roberts, made comments during the Agri-Pulse reception last night. I got to visit with him briefly afterward. Senator Roberts says the idea of trying to get urban America better understand where their food comes from is “a mountain we’ve been trying to climb for years …
Conversation with a Speaker
The 59th Speaker of the House spoke about leadership and the importance of the nation’s energy security during an appearance at the GROWMARK, FS System “Gold Rush” event in East Peoria, Illinois to introduce re-formulated Dieselex Gold. Denny Hastert, who is an Illinois farm boy, says growing up on a farm taught him the responsibility and leadership that helped serve …
Farm Bill Games Begin
Let the Farm Bill games begin! The Senate Ag Committee held the first of four scheduled farm bill hearings this past week, focusing on energy and rural development issues. In the coming weeks there will be hearings on conservation programs Feb. 28 and nutrition issues on March 14; and most importantly, a hearing on Title I – the farm safety …
GROWMARK Perspective on 2012 Farm Bill
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 …