Financial Crisis Starting to Impact Rural Lending

John Davis

The financial crisis that has gripped many of the urban areas of the country is now spreading out to the rural parts of America. And that is bad news (obviously)… and actually some good news. Attendees of the Farm Foundation’s Food and Agriculture Policy Summit in Washington, D.C. heard from a panel looking at the risks and challenges facing American …

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Infrastructure Challenges for Rural America

John Davis

Rural America’s infrastructure challenges cut to the heart of the six challenges outlined during this morning’s session of the Farm Foundation’s Food and Agriculture Policy Summit being held in Washington, D.C. As you might remember from my earlier post, this morning, Farm Foundation Pres. Neil Conklin outlined the six major areas of challenges facing agriculture over the next 30 years: …

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Farm Foundation Talk Turns to Research and Development

John Davis

One of the really great things about Farm Foundation events is how the group brings together people from divergent backgrounds and points-of-view to freely discuss the issues affecting American Agriculture today. The latest session at the Foundation’s Food and Agriculture Policy Summit it is hosting here in Washington, D.C. is another great example of that. Just a few minutes ago, …

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Farm Foundation Talks About Providing Food and Fuel in Growing World

John Davis

The world’s population will grow by 33 percent by the year 2040, but the amount of farmland to feed and fuel that growing demand won’t have to grow by that same one-third… that’s what attendees at the Farm Foundation’s Food and Agriculture Policy Summit in Washington, D.C. heard this morning. Greg Webb from Archer Daniels Midland gave that optimistic assessment …

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Stenholm: Who Will Bailout Farmers?

John Davis

More fascinating conversation today at the Farm Foundation’s Food and Agriculture Policy Summit in Washington, D.C. as former Rep. Charlie Stenholm is on the stage again leading a discussion on how to restructure agriculture infrastructure. In the spirit of the current talk of whether the government should bailout the American auto industry, Stenholm is asking the question: “Who will bailout …

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Farm Foundation Releases Report on Ag’s 30-Year Challenges

John Davis

An increasing world population coupled with increasing incomes will pose agriculture with some major challenges over the next three decades, as the world puts greater and greater demands on farmers to meet the world’s food and energy needs. Farm Foundation has released a new report this morning at The Food and Agriculture Policy Summit the group is hosting in Washington, …

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Will Stenholm Be Next Ag Secretary?

John Davis

On a day when he moderated a conversation between seven former Secretaries of Agriculture, speculation swirled that former Rep. Charlie Stenholm would be the next person to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Stenholm’s primary role was to ask questions of the six who attended in person and one who appeared by video at the Farm Foundation’s Food and Agriculture …

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Next Prez Dominates Farm Foundation’s Ag Secretaries Forum

John Davis

It was a pretty historic meeting this afternoon at the Farm Foundations’ Food and Agriculture Policy Summit in Washington, D.C. as six former Secretaries of Agriculture shared the stage and another joined by videotape. This truly bipartisan meeting of the minds was moderated by Farm Journal’s Roger Bernard and former Rep. Charlie Stenholm (who is rumored to be on the …

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Former Secs. of Ag Discuss Future

John Davis

Six former U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture… John Block under Pres. Ronald Reagan, Clayton Yeutter under the first Pres. George Bush, Michael Espy and Dan Glickman for Pres. Bill Clinton, and Ann Veneman and Michael Johanns under the second Pres. George (W.) Bush… and one on video… Robert Bergland for Pres. Jimmy Carter… are on the diais today in Washington, D.C., …

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Food and Agriculture Policy Summit

Cindy Zimmerman

Farm Foundation and Farm Journal Media are co-hosting a big event in Washington DC this week. The Food and Agriculture Policy Summit features three days of programs focused on the wide range of domestic and global issues facing the food system and agriculture today. “For a number of years, Farm Journal has sponsored an annual policy forum in Washington DC …

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