Following on the heels of the Senate Agriculture Committee’s action on Tuesday, the House Agriculture Committee passed the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM) of 2013 by a vote of 36 to 10 Wednesday after more than ten hours of farm bill markup considering 100 amendments. “This provides a great reason for optimism we will have a new … Read More
Farm Bill Markup Begins
As both the House and Senate Agriculture committees are marking up their versions of a farm bill this week, that was the number one issue for farm broadcasters meeting in the nation’s capitol for their annual Washington Watch. Mary Kay Thatcher with the American Farm Bureau Federation sees few major differences between the two committee drafts released last week. “If … Read More
Ag Secretary Happy to Work for Rural America
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is happy to be keeping his “great job” and continuing to fight for the future of American agriculture. “I am extraordinarily privileged and honored to have the job as the United States Secretary of Agriculture and to have another opportunity to continue this work,” Vilsack told the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting last week in … Read More
AFBF Goes to ‘Music City, USA’
The American Farm Bureau Federation has announced the country music artists who will be performing at its 94th Annual Meeting, Jan. 13-16 in Nashville, Tenn., also known as “Music City, USA.” The three-part country music group Edens Edge will perform at the opening general session on Sunday Jan. 13, which begins at 9 a.m. The Arkansas trio is composed of … Read More
Expiration of the 2008 Farm Bill
The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) is one of 15 agricultural organizations issuing joint statement today on the expiration of the 2008 farm bill: The 2008 law governing many of our nation’s farm policies expired on Sunday, September 30th, and the 2012 Farm Bill needed to replace it is bottled up in Congress. While the Senate and the House … Read More
Farm Groups to MC Farm Bill Now Rally
American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) president Bob Stallman and National Farmers Union (NFU) president Roger Johnson will be masters of ceremony for the Farm Bill Now rally on September 12 by the Capitol Reflecting Pool The rally is an effort to build public awareness of the need for Congress to pass a new, comprehensive, five-year farm bill before current one … Read More
Ag Groups Tell Senate to Reject House Disaster Bill
A coalition of about a dozen agriculture groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Soybean Association, the National Association of Wheat Growers, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Farmers Union, and the National Milk Producers Federation has urged Senate leaders to “refrain from supporting” any legislation resembling the House-passed disaster bill should it come up in the … Read More
Coalition Urges Congress to Pass a Farm Bill Now
A coalition of 39 farm groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Corn Growers Association, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, is calling on Congress to pass a new farm bill before the old one expires at the end of September. The group, Farm Bill Now, has an interactive web portal at www.FarmBillNow.com, that lets you connect with … Read More
Committee, Ag Leaders React to FARRM Bill Passage
It took nearly 15 hours, but members of the House Agriculture Committee were able to pass their version of the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM) Bill. Committee Chair Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) praised the bipartisan legislation: “This is a balanced, reform-minded, fiscally responsible bill that underscores our commitment to production … Read More
Ag Groups Urge FCC to Withdraw LightSquared Waiver
In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), agricultural and farm equipment organizations urged the agency to withdraw the conditional waiver granted to LightSquared in 2011 and modify the company’s satellite license to prohibit the building of a ground-based network. “We urge the FCC to adopt both proposals because of the overwhelming evidence that LightSquared’s proposed ground-based network would … Read More