The Farm Bill is still up in the air on Capitol Hill, and that’s why the folks at Farm Foundation have set up another of their free forums not too far from where Congress will be discussing the legislation’s future. In this next forum on Wednesday, Dec. 4, at the National Press Club in downtown Washington, D.C., the group has … Read More
Commodity Groups Optimistic About Farm Bill
Despite reports that high hopes are fading for a farm bill yet this year, agriculture industry representatives at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting last week were cautiously optimistic that the end is yet in sight. “I think progress is being made and I’m still confident that we’re going to get something before the end of the year,” said Mary … Read More
USDA’s Drive in Support of Rural Communities
USDA Rural Development was on hand during last week’s NAFB Trade Talk to share their work with rural communities across the United States and promote the use of #MyFarmBill. I spoke with Colleen Callahan, Illinois State Director for Rural Development, during the event and she was eager to express their commitment to rural communities and their passion for brining value … Read More
Ag Secretary Visits NAFB
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack made a trip to Kansas City to visit with farm broadcasters during the 70th National Association of Farm Broadcasting Annual Convention. The Secretary centered his comments around the RFS announcement, record levels of exports, drought issues and of course, the farm bill. Vilsack started off by thanking all the farm broadcaster for the work that they do … Read More
Conservation Compliance Support in Farm Bill Conference
One area where there seemed to be general agreement in the first meeting of the farm bill conference committee last week was the need for a strong conservation program – and most committee members who mentioned it during last week’s meeting are in favor of tying conservation compliance to crop insurance, which is part of the Senate bill. “As we … Read More
Farm Bill Future Topic of Farm Foundation Forum
The farm bill is coming closer to becoming reality, as Congress is about to start the legislation’s Conference Committee. Our friends at Farm Foundation will take a look at how work is progressing on the bill and how the outcome may effect the nation’s food and agriculture system during its next free forum, Wednesday, Nov. 6 from 9 a.m. to … Read More
Conservation Programs & More Shutdown with Gov’t
A shutdown of the U.S. government has also meant a shutdown of some vital services provided by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. As we mentioned in an earlier post, not the least of the USDA programs coming to a halt are the ones dealing with conservation issues, and that is mostly due to the fact that when the government shut … Read More
Farm Bill Expires, So Do Conservation Programs
As Congress and the President wrestle over the budget and whether or not it should be tied to the Affordable Care Act, aka “Obamacare,” not only has the government shut down, but farm programs have come to a halt as the one-year extension of the last Farm Bill expired on Oct. 1. And that has meant some key conservation programs, … Read More
House Passes ‘Partisan’ Farm Bill
Agricultural groups are discouraged with the passage today of the U.S. House of Representatives’ H.R. 1947, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (FARRM). The bill slid through with a tight margin of 216 to 208 after more than six hours of debate today and did not include food stamp authorization or nutrition programs, which the House … Read More
The Importance of Conservation
This week I’m attending the Conservation in Action Tour put on by the Conservation Technology Information Center. We’re in Illinois and will be touring farms in the Indian Creek Watershed where CTIC has been partnered with multiple entities in a project since 2010. To kick things off I met our Acting Chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Jason … Read More