The term “massive farm bill” has been used repeatedly in the general media this week to describe the bills passed out by the Senate and House Agriculture Committees, and by “massive” they mean the farm portion of the bill, not the nutrition portion which accounts for 80% of the funding called for in the legislation. “The Senate Agriculture Committee on …
Let the Farm Bill Markups Begin
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. “We absolutely want to get a farm bill done this year,” said Jon Doggett with the National Corn Growers Association. For corn …
Have to Have a Farm Bill
“I believe we will have a bill this year because we have to have a bill this year.” That’s what Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said to agricultural journalists meeting in Washington DC. While he is confident there will be a “food, farm and jobs” bill sometime this year, he’s not sure about exactly when that might be. “I don’t know …
House Ag Committee Chair at National Ag Day
The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee spoke to farmer and rancher representatives in Washington DC at National Ag Day activities on Tuesday, praising those who work in the agriculture industry. “The fact of the matter is we’re a critical part of the national economy and the food safety net for the country and the planet,” Congressman Frank Lucas (R-OK) …
Farm Groups Disappointed in Farm Bill Extension
Pretty much every farm organization has expressed disappointment over the nine-month farm bill extension included in the New Year’s Day fiscal cliff package, with the hope that Congress will do better in 2013. “We don’t support an extension of the 2008 farm bill, we worked very hard to see reform,” said National Corn Growers Association president Pam Johnson, noting that …
Commentary from Former Ag Secretaries
A highlight of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting annual meeting last week in Kansas City was a panel featuring three former secretaries of agriculture - Bob Bergland of Minnesota who served under President Carter from 1977-81; John Block of Illinois who served President Reagan from 1981-86; and Clayton Yeutter of Nebraska who was agriculture secretary for George H.W. Bush …
Getting to Know New NCGA First VP
The newest member of the officer team for the National Corn Growers Association is Martin Barbre, a farmer from Carmi, Illinois. I had the opportunity to get to know Martin a little better at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) annual meeting last week in Kansas City. Martin has been farming since he was 19 years old and now …
Update from NCGA Policy Pro
Phone to the ear is the way National Corn Growers Vice President of Public Policy Jon Doggett spends most of his day, so doing interviews at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting just two days after the election was no different than any other. He just had to squeeze in that phone time between the interviews! Broadcasters were most interested …
Romney on the Farm
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney put his focus on agriculture and rural policy on Tuesday with the release of an agricultural policy white paper and a visit to an Iowa family farm. Romney pledged to get a farm bill passed as president and blamed President Obama for the failure of Congress to do so yet, despite the fact that Republican …
Vilsack Talks About Farm Bill Expiration
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack talked about the impact of the expiration of the 2008 Farm Bill at the beginning of this week during an appearance at World Dairy Expo. While not all farm programs expired at the stroke of midnight on October 1, several very important ones did, including export assistance. “After having four of the best years of …