Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture Mike Conaway spoke to attendees of Commodity Classic in San Antonio, taking the traditional time slot of the as yet unconfirmed Agriculture Secretary, Sonny Perdue. His remarks focuses on the upcoming Agriculture Bill. “I am committed– driven, quite frankly– to get the farm bill done on time,” Conaway emphasized. Having the rules of … Read More
Monarch Collaborative Urges Farmers to Build on Progress
We’ve seen progress on behalf of promoting the conservation of monarch butterflies and expanding their habitat, but improvement still needs to be made, says the Monarch Collaborative. The 2016-2017 overwintering population estimates done by the World Wildlife Fund and the Mexican National Commission of Protected Natural Areas show a decline of nearly 27 percent in the number of eastern monarch … Read More
Political Forecast from #CIRB2017
Last year at the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) annual meeting, there were still lots of candidates for president and Informa Economics Senior VP Jim Wiesemeyer talked about what they might mean to the future of agriculture. This year, he only had to focus on the one who actually made it to the White House. “It’s a great time … Read More
GMO Labeling Rule Faces Challenges
Many ag organizations put in multiple hours to pass the Labeling Law this summer, but now a new executive order aimed at reducing regulations may create additional challenges to the final release of these rules. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) was working on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to get feedback on the best way to handle the new … Read More
Wheat and Sorghum Producers Honor Sen. Roberts
The chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee was honored by both wheat and sorghum producers this week in Washington. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) was presented with the National Sorghum Producers 2017 “Friend of Sorghum” Congressional Award in recognition of his long-running work representing the U.S. Sorghum producers. “Senator Roberts is a formidable champion for U.S. farmers,” said Don Bloss, NSP … Read More
Ag Secretary is Last Minute Choice for Trump
President-elect Donald Trump will officially round out his cabinet by nominating former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue as Secretary of Agriculture just a little more than 24 hours before the inauguration. As word about the choice spread Wednesday evening, most agricultural groups were waiting until the official announcement to respond, but one of the first was American Farm Bureau president Zippy … Read More
USDA Devotes $252 Million to Conservation
Applications are now being accepted for federal funding through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The Natural Resources Conservation Service will award up to $252 million for locally driven, public-private partnerships to: improve water quality, overcome drought, enhance soil health, support wildlife habitat and protect agriculture viability. Projects must match or exceed federal requests with private dollars or local funds. … Read More
Farm Groups Stress Trade to Trump
The American Soybean Association and 15 other farmer organizations joined together last week to make sure President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence understand the importance of agricultural trade to rural America. The groups sent a letter asking the administration to protect and enhance trade, specifically in regard to China, Canada and Mexico. “We know that securing positive benefits … Read More
NCGA Welcomes 115th Congress
The New Year has been rung in and the 115th Congress and the National Corn Growers Association have gotten right to work. President Wesley Spurlock, First Vice President Kevin Skunes and staff from the NCGA office in DC have already made their first set of rounds on Capitol Hill, making sure lawmakers know what’s important to corn farmers. It’s essential work, … Read More
USDA Invests in Conservation Partnerships
The USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) is investing $225 million in high-impact projects to improve water quality, combat drought, enhance soil health, support wildlife habitat and protect agricultural viability. These 88 new projects bring the National Resources Conservation Service total investment to $825 million in 286 projects with more than 2,000 conservation partners investing their own $1.4 billion. RCPP … Read More