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American Agriculture at 250: A Legacy Worth Securing Key takeaways: It’s National Agriculture Day! America’s farm families provide us with the safest, most abundant, and most affordable food supply the world has ever known. As our Nation approaches its 250th birthday, we celebrate that legacy, but recognize that the current state of the farm economy has put…
Bipartisan Farm Bill Advances from Committee – Now What? The House Agriculture Committee last week advanced, in a bipartisan vote of 34-17, the “Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026,” or, as some call it, “Farm Bill 2.0”. Why do we need a Farm Bill now? For producers across the country, the Committee’s passage of…
Producers and lawmakers alike have been sounding the alarm for months: the farm economy is in a dire state. Our latest article detailed the harsh reality on the ground. High input costs, low commodity prices, and multiple years of downturn have farmers staring down a sea of red ink. This reality felt across the countryside was further illustrated…
America’s farm economy is in a dire situation. Farmers are being squeezed from every direction: production costs are high and rising, commodity prices are low, and existing aid, while very much appreciated and welcomed, is unfortunately falling short. The result? Farms on the edge of bankruptcy, growing mental health strain in rural communities, and real…
As 2025 comes to a close, we’re reminded that America’s farmers continue to show up every day to produce the food, fuel, and fiber our country depends on. From row crops to specialty crops, farm families are doing everything they can to keep their operations moving forward—even as economic pressures continue to mount. Earlier this year,…
As families gather around the table this Thanksgiving, we’re reminded that every meal begins with the incredible people who keep our country fed, fueled, and clothed: America’s farm and ranch families. From the field to the dinner table, and the many steps in between, these hardworking men and women make it possible for us to…
This Sunday, October 12, is National Farmer’s Day. On this day – and every day – we recognize the people who feed, fuel, and clothe our nation. Farming is more than a profession; it’s a commitment passed down through generations, sustained by resilience, innovation, and community. The impact of American agriculture is felt everywhere. Nearly…
USDA’s latest farm income forecast points to a 40% increase in net farm income in 2025 compared to 2024. On the surface, this may sound promising after several hard years – but a closer look reveals another deeply challenging year for the men and women that feed, fuel, and clothe our nation. Beyond the numbers…
*NEW FPF Unscripted* The Senate-passed budget reconciliation package, perhaps better known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” is well on its way through the U.S. Congress and lawmakers are aiming to have it to the President’s desk by July 4. We here at Farm Policy Facts are excited to bring in the big guns –…
*NEW PODCAST EPISODE* Ever wonder how you can stay on top of the most important news in our fast-paced, rapidly changing world? Ever wish you could zoom in on the most important, consequential news of the day without fluff or rhetoric? Well, we here at Farm Policy Facts have got just the man for the…
Every year during National Ag Week, we put a special spotlight on the incredible men and women who keep us fed, fueled, and clothed – our hardworking farm and ranch families across this great nation. To our farmers and ranchers – we thank you, today and every day for your tireless efforts! This year, we…
It’s a new year – and with a new year comes a new Congress, new Administration, new opportunities, and new beginnings. Could a new Farm Bill join that list? America’s farm and ranch families certainly hope so. Farmers and ranchers across the country have been urging Congressional leaders to prioritize and pass a robust new Farm…
The following opinion piece originally ran on Agri-Pulse on December 13, 2024. There is no shortage of adages about the consequences of ignoring a serious problem. They all agree that a serious problem doesn’t just go away but gets worse, and delays in addressing the issue only make the solution all the harder to come…
The Thanksgiving leftovers are put away and holiday decorations are beginning to light front porches and mantles. With only a few weeks left before the new year – and even fewer before the 118th Congress is adjourned – policymakers are tasked with a hefty to-do list. Many lawmakers are already vowing to circle back on…
Imagine for a moment sitting down at the dining table on Thanksgiving only to find empty plates – no turkey, gravy, and stuffing; no pumpkin pie or rolls; no sweet potato or green bean casserole to be had. Thankfully, that’s not the case, because America’s farm and ranch families work with grit and determination every…
When it comes to the federal budget, there is no better investment than smart farm policy. That’s why we’ve been sharing our top 10 reasons why we must pass a Farm Bill this year. Did you know that the 2018 Farm Bill expired on September 30, 2023? Farm and ranch families are facing rising input…
*NEW PODCAST EPISODE* As key provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill are set to expire, financial conditions in farm country are spelling out the dire need for a robust Farm Bill with an enhanced farm safety net to support the families who provide us in the U.S. with the safest, most abundant, and most affordable…
The following opinion piece originally ran on Agri-Pulse on October 1, 2024. Over the past two years, Congress has held numerous hearings that have documented a brewing financial crisis caused by falling commodity prices, high input costs, and tightening farm credit. Members have heard from farmers and ranchers across the country about the need for a…
Recorded on September 18, 2024 *New Podcast Episode* “I don’t want to be discouraging this morning, but it’s important to provide a glimpse of today’s economic picture for agriculture. Unless conditions change, we are facing a perfect storm, though I don’t think it will be fully understood until next year when farmers are unable to…
Farmers and ranchers from across the U.S. left their fields at a pivotal time earlier this month with a united cause and rallying cry – we need a Farm Bill NOW! In advance of the fly-in, more than 300 farm and ranch groups sent a letter to the Majority and Minority leaders in the House…
This content was originally posted via National Corn Growers Association. Citing worsening economic conditions impacting the nation’s farmers, over 300 national and state groups, including the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and its affiliated corn state grower associations, sent a letter to congressional leaders today calling on them to pass the farm bill before year’s…
The 2018 Farm Bill, signed into law in December of 2018, expired on September 30, 2023. An extension at the tail end of last year shifted that expiration date to September 30, 2024. The current situation in farm country looks vastly different than it did in 2018, and the conditions for a farm financial crisis…
*NEW PODCAST EPISODE* It’s no secret that America’s farm and ranch families are facing a myriad of challenges, and with no end in sight for Farm Bill negotiations, many have begun to wonder, where do we go from here? In our latest Groundwork podcast, we reflect on lessons learned from past Farm Bills and take…
From plunging crop prices to rising interest rates and high input costs – not to mention natural disasters – America’s farmers and ranchers are facing a myriad of challenges. New challenges warrant the need for stronger protections, but producers only have an outdated farm safety net to rely on under the current Farm Bill as…
The following opinion piece originally ran on Agri-Pulse on July 11, 2024. Plummeting crop prices. High input costs. Rising interest rates. Tightening credit. Severe and chronic natural disasters. Record U.S. agricultural trade deficits. A global economic downturn. A record fall in net farm income. An outdated farm safety net. At long last, something’s got to give.…
House Agriculture Committee Chairman, Congressman G.T. Thompson (R-PA) on May 17 unveiled the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024. In advance of the full House Agriculture Committee marking up the legislation on Thursday, May 23, we thought we’d highlight what key agriculture groups – the long-standing credible associations representing the farm and ranch…
The long-awaited 2024 Farm Bill is picking up steam as both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees press forward, releasing key documents and proposals. In fact, the House Agriculture Committee has scheduled a full Committee mark-up for May 23. The last Farm Bill was negotiated, passed, and signed into law in 2018. More than half…
*NEW PODCAST EPISODE* “Farm and food security is national security, and good farm policy isn’t written by D.C. bureaucrats for D.C. bureaucrats; it’s written by farmers in rural America for farmers in rural America.” This powerful statement came from Congressman Brad Finstad (R-MN) during a House Agriculture Committee Hearing on February 14 – laying bare the…
Most of us take our abundant supply of food for granted. When you cook a delicious meal at home, you know that you likely only need to make a quick trip to the supermarket for the ingredients – meaning, you don’t have to grow it all by yourself. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, put…
This holiday season, America’s farmers and ranchers are at the top of our nice list for growing and raising the crops and livestock that keep us all fed. The family farmers who grow sugarbeets and sugarcane – and the workers who transform these plants into the sugar in our holiday desserts – are an essential…
If it’s a Farm Bill year, you know that farm policy critics are going to come out swinging with the same old attacks on family farmers and ranchers. None of the material is new. The only difference is the attacks seem to be less tethered to the truth. Biting the hand that feeds them? Yes.…
Last summer, corn had a golden moment when seven-year-old Tariq was interviewed about his love for corn in a video that permeated pop culture. That same year, nearly 90 million acres of corn were planted across the United States, providing a valuable food source and driving economic growth in rural communities. We recently called up Richard Syverson, a fourth-generation…
American farm families feed, fuel, and clothe America. A new survey from the American Sugar Alliance shows that American voters recognize the importance of agriculture and want Congress to prioritize American farmers in the next Farm Bill, provide them with a strong and reliable safety net, and protect them from foreign entities that could displace…
Did you know the average age of an American farmer is almost 58 years old? It’s a startling statistic, considering the vital role of farmers in our daily lives. With a growing global population and a dwindling number of farmers and ranchers, it’s critical that farm policies support the next generation of producers. Thankfully, the National…
With the recent debt ceiling deal avoiding a default on the U.S. debt, all eyes are now on the 2023 Farm Bill. Fighting for a strong farm safety net is more critical than ever before to maintain food security for all Americans. Producers have already made it clear to Congress that additional funding and support…
The Washington Post Editorial Board recently published an opinion piece arguing that Congress should cut the farm safety net that helps farmers and ranchers navigate disaster and keeps us all fed. Drawing upon discredited anti-farmer reports, they laid out just how disastrous farm policy has been for America: ✅ Supports a “fantastically productive agricultural sector” ✅ Provides a safe, abundant, and affordable supply…
America’s farmers and ranchers provide us with the world’s most abundant and most affordable food supply. America’s food independence is an invaluable strategic asset and one that we absolutely cannot take for granted. It’s critical to our national security. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently put it into simple terms. Voters agree. A survey conducted by…
It’s budget season on Capitol Hill, and when it comes to the federal budget, there is no better investment than farm policy. That’s because only a fraction of a percent of federal spending is directed towards the farm safety net. Yet, that small budget supports family farmers, protects our national food security, and drives economic…
National Ag Day is a day to celebrate the hardworking men and women who grow the food and fiber that helps fuel the American economy and is vital to our food security. We are blessed every day by the diversity of America’s farms and are grateful for all of our farmers and ranchers. American farmers…
Collin Peterson, former Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, wrote a must-read op-ed outlining the FACTS behind farm policy. “We have agriculture policy in this country for a reason. Among the lessons the pandemic taught us is not to take for granted full grocery shelves, safe food, and the fact that we as Americans pay less…
Look who’s back, back again. It’s the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and its anti-family farmer campaign. EWG’s latest faulty report is making the rounds, so it’s time to bust some #FarmPolicyFallacies. For those not familiar with EWG, it uses an outdated and intentionally misleading “farm subsidy database” to gin up opposition to the farm policies that support U.S. family farmers and keep food…
Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, knows there’s a sense of urgency to pass a Farm Bill before the current legislation expires on October 1. “Rural America needs it,” he explained on the most recent episode of Farm Policy Fact’s Groundwork podcast. “Our farmers, ranchers, and foresters, our processors – key stakeholders…
It’s a rallying cry pushed by special-interest groups and farm policy critics: dismantle the U.S. food system! But a fundamental misunderstanding of how our food is grown leads to bad ideas and even worse policy. Ray Starling, a former White House and U.S. Department of Agriculture official, explores this debate in his new book “Farmers versus…
As Thanksgiving approaches, food prices might be a topic of conversation around your dinner table. Dr. Rob Johansson, Director of Economics and Policy Analysis at the American Sugar Alliance (ASA) and the former Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), joined Farm Policy Facts on our Groundwork podcast to talk about the importance of an…
As you enjoy a Thanksgiving meal this week with your friends and loved ones, don’t forget to thank a farmer. That’s because Thanksgiving dinner is only made possible due to the hard work of America’s farmers and ranchers. The turkey or ham on your table? Raised by a farmer. The wheat in your dinner rolls,…
When you look at farms across the American southwest, you’re struck by the incredible diversity of agriculture. Rice, poultry, timber, peanuts, pecans, cotton, corn and “all the vegetables you can imagine” help fuel our national food and fiber supply. Jim Sugarek, president of the Southwest Council of Agribusiness, told the Groundwork podcast that each of the half a…
Amid the daily onslaught of news, you might not have dug into the August Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). But this report contains an alarming prediction: U.S. exports of agricultural products in Fiscal Year 2023 are expected to fall from current projections to $193.5 billion, while projected imports of agricultural…
With a Farm Bill on the horizon, Congress is already hearing from policy wonks, think tank experts, and DC insiders about what they think legislation should say. But the most important voice in this conversation is the American farmer. So, we asked fourth-generation rice farmer Jennifer James to join us on the Groundwork podcast and provide her perspective on the…
America’s farmers are no strangers to tough times. Mother Nature has a mean streak and farm equipment always seems to break down at the wrong moment. However, this year producers are facing additional stresses. This summer is overshadowed by skyrocketing input costs and growing inflation, unpredictable weather disasters, supply chain challenges that hinder products from making it to market…
“A very small number of acres pack a pretty big punch in terms of economic impact.” American-made sugar is an essential food ingredient and, according to a new study, an essential part of our economy. Dr. Bart Fischer, renowned agricultural economist from Texas A&M University, recently joined Farm Policy Facts to discuss a new report released by…
When August Pfluger decided to join the Air Force, he drew upon a deeply ingrained desire to put service before self. Now, as the congressman representing Texas’ 11th district, Pfluger recognizes that same motivation in the small number of hardworking men and women who farm and ranch to provide all Americans with food, fuel, and fiber.…
Jocelyn Schlichting is a fourth-generation farmer who recently joined Farm Policy Facts on our Groundwork podcast to talk about the future of agriculture. Jocelyn returned to the farm five years ago after working as an accountant in corporate America, finding new purpose in growing the food that helps feed America, and the world. “Something like the war in…
Across the country, farmers are facing a multitude of challenges in planting their Spring 2022 crop. Farmer Michael England grows cotton, milo, and sugarcane in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. So far this year, he has planted less than a quarter of his farm. “We just don’t have the water to grow it,” he told his local…
In America, approximately 220,000 farming and ranching families raise 80 percent of the crops and livestock that feed and clothe our nation. All 330 million of us. “That is a very big task for a very small group of people,” crop insurance agent Joanie Grimes recently told Farm Policy Facts on our Groundwork podcast It’s a task that comes…
America’s Farmers Help Feed a World in Need Our global community is facing a potential food crisis and current challenges are immense. The United Nations World Food Programme warns that this may be “a year of catastrophic hunger” as 44 million people around the world face famine. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has created a humanitarian disaster…
The idea for Earth Day was created more than 50 years ago by a junior senator from Wisconsin to raise public awareness of the impact people have on the environment. Today, Earth Day is an opportunity for the public to learn how we can treat our planet better so that we will have a safe…
Spring is finally here, bringing warmer weather, budding trees… and tax season. Benjamin Franklin once famously said, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. So, we invited Paul Neiffer, Principal at CliftonLarsonAllen, to join us on the Groundwork podcast to discuss how current – and proposed – tax provisions affect our farmers. Known as…
When we think of farming, the food on our plates and clothes on our backs likely comes to mind. But what about the fuel in our cars? Ethanol is a low-carbon, high-performance biofuel made from American-grown crops such as corn and sorghum. Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy, the nation’s largest ethanol trade association, joined…
Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its highly anticipated 2022 Farm Sector Income Forecast. While there are some bright points in the forecast – namely higher prices for soybeans, corn, cotton, and wheat – these are overshadowed by the increasing pressures of rising input costs and growing inflation. Combined with the continued snarl…
The following guest opinion piece by Collin Peterson, former chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, appeared on Agri-Pulse on Tuesday, March 1. Watching the video series on American agriculture that the New York Times recently published reminded me that those of us who champion agriculture and rural America have a lot of work to do to overcome negative perceptions about…
When Kevin Van Trump interviewed with a big city trading firm in Chicago, he didn’t have any experience trading commodities. But he did have one thing going for him – at 6’4”, he was easily spotted on the trading floor at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. From that humble start, Kevin has built a successful career…
Who exactly are the people who produce our food and fiber? It is an important question to ask as generations of Americans become farther removed from their farming roots. It’s also an easy question to answer. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) — whose mission is to support our farmers — maintains data on the…
As Americans prepare for Thanksgiving dinner this year, they will likely see an increase in prices at the grocery store. The cost of the traditional Thanksgiving meal is up 14% more than last year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) annual survey. Farm Bureau’s informal survey looked at the cost of turkey, stuffing,…
Challenges in the cattle markets are not new, but the pandemic has herded these problems to the forefront with historic packer profits – a function of spreads between the prices ranchers are paid for their cattle and the prices people pay at the grocery store or other retail markets for beef. In the wake of…
More than ten years ago, Michelle Miller gave up gluten and swore off GMOs after believing the pervasive misinformation often peddled online about modern-day farming. Then, she fell in love with a real-life farmer – and with farming itself. Now, Miller is arming everyday Americans with the real facts about agriculture. It’s all part of…
From TikToks to online articles, it’s easy for misinformation to rapidly spread. We’re here as your trusted farm policy experts to set the record straight. You may have seen some recent TikToks claiming the U.S. Department of Agriculture is asking farmers to destroy their crops. Some videos have even gone viral racking up nearly 700,000…
“I’m very proud of the fact that we’ve sustained a sugar policy that has operated at zero cost to taxpayers,” Jack Roney, the veteran sugar economist, said on a recent episode of Groundwork while reflecting on his storied career at the American Sugar Alliance (ASA). “I’m particularly proud of that because I think our sugar…
For decades, West Texas cotton growers have had a fearless champion on their side: Steve Verett. As the recently retired CEO of Plains Cotton Growers, Verett advocated for both cotton growers and all of agriculture with passion and authenticity. Verett joined Farm Policy Fact’s Groundwork podcast to reflect on his career and talk about what…
The Washington Post recently ran a story on a Rockefeller Foundation report in which the president of the Foundation referred to the U.S. food supply chain as “broken”, costing Americans three times what we’ve been led to believe, thanks to hidden costs. In the actual report, a slight bow is made to what we think are…
A small group of radical environmentalists have declared war on America’s cattle producers and sworn off burgers, all with the dubious claim of fighting climate change. We wanted to dig into the real story behind this beef with beef. So, we called up Dr. Tryon Wickersham, an Associate Professor of Animal Nutrition at Texas A&M…
We all rely on American farmers and ranchers to grow the crops and raise the livestock that keep us fed, fueled, and clothed – often working long hours and tiring days. Thanks to American agriculture, we all benefit from the world’s safest and most abundant food supply, even during crises such as a global pandemic.…
“Look to the farm.” That was Arkansas rice farmer Mark Isbell’s advice to Congress when Groundwork asked what policymakers can do to help rural America address climate change. While it can be easy to get caught up in buzzwords or trending policy ideas when it comes to climate change, America’s farmers and ranchers are already doing the hard…
Farm Policy Facts shares this guest column, written by Chandler Goule, CEO of the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG). NAWG is the primary policy representative in Washington D.C. for wheat growers, working to ensure a better future for America’s growers, the industry and the general public. Nearly half of the United States is experiencing…
America’s farmers don’t just feed the world – they clothe the world, too. America leads the way in the global cotton market, providing approximately 35 percent of global cotton exports, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Each bale of cotton has a long journey from field to fabric, making reliable infrastructure critically important for America’s…
Collin Peterson, former Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, recently retired from Congress after thirty years of service to America’s farmers and ranchers. His retirement was short-lived. “I’m not very good at being retired,” he quipped on the most recent episode of Farm Policy Fact’s Groundwork podcast. Collin Peterson is utilizing his decades of farm policy expertise…
We must not weaken the farm safety net. That was one of the messages esteemed ag economist Dr. Rob Johansson shared on this month’s episode of Groundwork. Dr. Johansson is the Associate Director of Economics and Policy Analysis at the American Sugar Alliance (ASA), a position he recently assumed after previously serving as Chief Economist at…
Spring represents a time of renewal. This especially rings true throughout rural America as farmers plan for the upcoming planting season and many ranchers welcome the next generation to their herd. Last spring, however, America was just beginning its fight against an unknown enemy: the COVID-19 virus. It’s been one year since the full weight…
“If I had to describe [Secretary Tom Vilsack] in one word: driven.” That’s how Brandon Willis, former Administrator of the Risk Management Agency and a previous Senior Advisor to Secretary Vilsack, described the Secretary of Agriculture nominee to Groundwork listeners on our most recent episode. Willis joined the podcast to share some insights about his time working with…
During this season of gratitude, we are giving thanks to America’s farmers and ranchers. Not only do America’s strong federal farm policies ensure that we all have reliable access to affordable food, they also share our generous bounty with our neighbors. Nicole Berg, a fourth-generation farmer from Washington State and Vice President of the National…
The farmers and ranchers who produce our nation’s food are among the unsung heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve put their own fears aside to keep America fed during this uncertain time. So, it’s unconscionable that as many farmers are in the field harvesting, farm policy critics are now ramping up their same old criticisms.…
An August storm in Iowa flattened millions of acres of corn with more than 100 mile-per-hour winds, wildfires in the West continue to do untold damage to fruit and vegetable crops, and hurricane season in the Atlantic has already generated a historic number of storms. Farmers are sure to face even more challenges as extreme…
During the COVID-19 crisis, it has been more important than ever that we come together to support one another. America’s sugar farmers are doing their part, keeping sugar moving from farm to table while also helping sustain rural communities and support workers during this tough time. On this episode of Groundwork, Farm Policy Facts talked…
Federal farm policies account for less than a quarter of a percent of the total federal annual budget, but they have been key to securing the most abundant and most affordable food supply in the world. The U.S. Department of Agriculture calculates that the average American spent only 4.9 percent of their income purchasing food…
Biofuel producers are doing all they can to keep the doors open and workers on the payroll, including supporting our public health efforts by repurposing ethanol and glycerin supplies to produce hand sanitizer.
The EWG has proven once again how low it will stoop to carry out its ideological vendetta against American farm and ranch families who feed, clothe, and fuel this nation in a manner that is unrivaled in history.
America’s farmers and ranchers will likely need more assistance from the federal government to recover from the downturn in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Agriculture.
After seven straight years of rural recession, compounded in recent years by unjustified retaliatory tariffs by China, U.S. farmers and ranchers were already standing on a precipice. Now, without immediate action by Washington, the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic may well push them over the edge.
It’s time for the federal government to step up and help farmers and ranchers when they need it most. Secretary Perdue announced on Friday a modest aid package that will bring some relief to the heartland. But we need to provide America’s farmers and ranchers with a comprehensive plan for assistance that ensures farmers and…
The government has rightly declared our farmers and ranchers essential workers and Congress is backing rural America with aid designed to help the economy during the pandemic. It’s a good step and one that will need to be revaluated as the true impact on farming and rural communities evolves. Now is the time to support…
From the farmer who plants the seed to the grocer who sells the produce, we applaud every single person who supports our food chain. Thank you for setting aside your own fears. For working hard days and long weeks. For feeding our families.
Farming is a tough business, fraught with uncertainty. Thankfully, Congress used the 2018 Farm Bill to strengthen many of the programs farmers use to manage risk, including the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs.
Protecting farm policy is key to supporting rural America’s efforts on sustainability. Farmers have to be able to earn a living and maintain economic stability in order to invest in sustainability. Farm policy provides a helping hand during the tough times and makes that possible.
Combined with the Farm Bureau’s analysis that Chapter 12 family farm bankruptcies last year increased by nearly 20 percent over 2018 and projections that major commodity prices will remain low, things look outright dismal for farm country. In now its 7th year of recession, the rural economy is struggling. And farmers are feeling the pressure.
For much of rural America, 2019 was defined by hardship. Severe weather conditions and a farm economy in a seemingly endless recession left many farm families wondering how they would pay their bills. Thankfully, America’s farmers found some relief in the aid provided through the Market Facilitation Program (MFP).
This month, Groundwork spoke to Dr. John Newton, Chief Economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation, and one of the foremost experts on farm economics to discuss rural America’s hopes for a prosperous new year.
In what might be our most mouth-watering episode to date, Groundwork spoke with Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union (NFU), to talk about Thanksgiving dinner. More specifically, to discuss NFU’s annual study examining the farmer’s share of the Thanksgiving food dollar.
Farmers across the heartland are scrambling to finish this year’s fall harvest before winter descends. That is, if they were even able to get their crops in the ground in the first place after historic flooding this spring.
Fair and reciprocal trade does more than ensure equitable treatment for the high-quality Made-in-America goods our farmers and ranchers produce. USMCA will spur even greater economic activity in our rural communities that often need it most.
Just last week, the Federal Reserve reported in their October “Beige Book” the dismal news that agricultural conditions have “deteriorated further due to the ongoing impacts of adverse weather, weak commodity prices, and trade disruptions.” Brian Thalmann, farmer and chairman of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, recently spoke with Groundwork about these persistent challenges and others facing…
Finalizing a trade agreement with Japan could secure valuable market access for several American commodities and ignite a new momentum for the President’s trade agenda. Trade attorney John Gilliland joined Groundwork to discuss what this means for agriculture and the status of several other ongoing trade negotiations.
As China continues to raise barriers blocking the import of American farm products, the USDA recently announced registration for the second round of Market Facilitation Payments (MFP). President Trump has authorized up to $14.5 billion in MFP payments, meant to help mitigate the negative effects of retaliatory tariffs stemming from ongoing trade disputes.
To take a deeper dive into agricultural subsidies, Groundwork reached out to one of the foremost experts, Dr. Darren Hudson. Hudson is the Director of the International Center for Agricultural Competitiveness at Texas Tech University, where they maintain a database of international subsidies and examine how they affect the competitiveness of American farmers on the…
Groundwork caught up with Ruth Gerdes, President of Auburn Agency Crop Insurance, in late June while she was on Capitol Hill to testify before the House Agriculture Committee about what she calls the “the jewel in the crown of U.S. farm policy.”
Trade has always been a vital part of farm income, and the importance of creating a level playing field for America’s farm and ranch families has only grown as the world population expands and demand for high-quality, home-grown American agriculture products rises.
Hoffman joined Farm Policy Facts from his farm in New Ulm, Minnesota to share with Groundwork listeners how momentum is building both across the heartland and within the halls of Congress to move immediately on the ratification of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Prospects for passage of the so-called USMCA received a big boost in recent weeks as…
Rural America is resilient. Our farmers will continue to work the land in hopes that the next season will bring renewed abundance. But they are also relying on Washington, DC to take decisive action to stand by U.S. farm families as we negotiate a quick end to ongoing trade disputes. Standing idle and allowing rural…
Farm Policy Facts recently caught up with two sugar farmers who traveled to Washington last month to make the case for smart farm policies. Their stories were captured in a new podcast, Groundwork, that debuts April 22 on farmpolicyfacts.org. Hear more from Snyder and Medine on Groundwork. The monthly show will focus on a range of policy…
The USDA quietly released a statistic in March that should alarm us all. More than seven dairy farms folded every day in 2018, and it’s easy to see why. America’s farmers and ranchers are in their 6th straight year of economic recession, with no end in sight.
Escalating debt-to-asset ratios reported by USDA last week and rising farm bankruptcies have spurred an increasing number of farm and ranch leaders to call for an extended Market Facilitation Program or congressionally enacted relief, whether in the form of a strengthened Farm Bill safety net or one-time legislative relief.
As farmers across the country prepare for the 2019 planting season, the one question on everyone’s minds seems to be: will the new Farm Bill provide an adequate safety net to see farm families through another brutal year?
As the House voted overwhelmingly in favor of the 2018 farm bill on Wednesday, a great cheer rose from farms and ranches across America. Maybe they couldn’t hear it inside the House chamber, but here in farm country, the sound was deafening. It was the early Christmas gift farmers had hoped for and Congress delivered…
The global unfair trade practices that hurt American farmers and ranchers every day aren’t exactly state secrets, despite claims by opponents of agriculture who blindly argue that they don’t really exist or matter.
By this point, we are all exhausted by the endless rhetoric about America being a divided nation – a country of haves and have-nots. But, we think it’s important right now to explore this concept of division a little further. We’re not talking about partisan sniping. We’re talking about moisture and weather.
Selling more U.S. farm product overseas is the most important issue for farmers this time around – outranking even the war on terror, deficit reduction and healthcare. Not far behind on the list was passing the new Farm Bill, which was more important to farm voters than rural job creation, infrastructure improvements, immigration and lowering…
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump and his trade team announced a modernized trade pact with Mexico and Canada, and most of agriculture cheered. But it was a comment about another country during the White House press conference that really caught our attention. India is “the tariff king,” the President said. “India charges tariffs of…
America’s struggling farm economy is heading for even bigger declines, according to recent surveys, and the nation’s top bankers say manufacturers should expect a major drop in sales of new equipment. Inflation-adjusted net farm income, which is a broad measure of profits, is expected to be down by $11.4 billion, or nearly 15 percent, this…
As the 2018 Farm Bill debate plays out in Congress, farmers across the nation are getting in front of the camera to tell their stories with the hopes that lawmakers will understand just how important a strong farm policy is to rural America.
August is typically a down time in DC, but that has not been the case this year. Among other things, lots of work was being done on the Farm Bill.
Summer is just about over, and Labor Day on the horizon signals that harvest is near. That means, it’s time to go to work. Farmers are watching Washington, D.C. as lawmakers return to finish some important Farm Bill business.
Following a relatively smooth markup in the Senate Agriculture Committee, the Farm Bill now moves to the Senate floor for consideration, and congressional leaders intend to have debate wrapped up before Independence Day.
When the Senate overwhelmingly passed its Farm Bill – just days after the House did the same – applause from the agricultural community was swift and loud. The bill, once reconciled in conference, will provide some economic certainty and help mitigate farm risk.
When Congressmen Ron Kind (D-WI) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) introduced an amendment to the Farm Bill in 2007 that would have gutted U.S. farm policy and put American jobs at risk, the outcry from the agricultural community was swift and fierce. A campaign backed by farmers quickly labeled their plan “Kinda Flakey” and highlighted the…
It’s been a lively Farm Bill season, with a slew of anti-farmer amendments going down in flames. But one of farm policy’s most vocal opponents has been conspicuously quiet…until now. The Environmental Working Group came roaring back this week with a new “study” that – true to form – breaks no new ground and is…
Prices and farm incomes are in the tank. Ongoing international trade talks are affecting overseas markets. Congress is debating a Farm Bill that will determine growers’ ability to mitigate risk. Mother Nature is wreaking havoc across the country – with farmers in the Great Plains facing drought and southern growers getting pounded by rain.
In our view, this kind of open, honest debate beats the sneaky subterfuge of some past farm bill debates where pernicious amendments to gut U.S. farm policy have masqueraded as “reforms” in order to confuse the debate. The Heritage Foundation has made it perfectly clear that it opposes any safety net whatsoever for America’s farmers…
A Farm Policy Facts writer was in the Red River Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota yesterday, visiting with sugarbeet farmers who are planting this year’s crop. Farmers there are worried. Worried about the weather, which delayed planting. Worried about the markets, which have been slow to recover after Mexico illegally dumped subsidized surpluses here and…
Farmers in West Texas and other parts of the Great Plains would love to be busier planting right now, but they’re having to reconsider because the ground is so dry it could destroy the seeds.
It’s a busy time to be a farmer. Many are in their fields planting, or preparing to do so. They are literally “covering the ground” – cultivating roughly 300 million acres and preparing crops to be harvested in the fall to feed and clothe the world.
U.S. flagged vessels headed for China made an abrupt U-turn last month and headed for new ports. It wasn’t the weather that forced the change of course, but rather the contents in the ships’ hulls. Although the cargo involved is relatively small in the overall scope of agricultural trade, it did send off alarm bells…
How does the bill “modernize” sugar policy? It mandates that the U.S. Department of Agriculture invite heavily subsidized foreign imports into the U.S., artificially depressing farmer prices and rewarding bad actors abroad. Worse yet, the bill denies sugar producers the basic non-recourse loans available to other commodities, meaning failure to repay would result not just…
The Farm Bill debate is officially underway with the House Agricultural Committee marking up H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, this week. Members of Congress have heard from growers and business owners over the last several months in listening sessions, during personal visits and in opinion pieces published in newspapers across the…
A recent article in The Wall Street Journal revealed a rarely-discussed phenomenon of farmers being forced to take second and even third jobs as they try to keep their family farms afloat.
Congress passed the first Farm Bill to help real Old MacDonalds who were struggling during the Great Depression. And lawmakers revisit the bill about every 5 years because, in contrast to the nursery rhyme, Old MacDonalds must constantly evolve with new tools, technologies and techniques to meet new challenges.
America enjoys the most affordable, widely available food supply in the history of mankind for about one-quarter of 1% of the federal budget. That’s why it’s so odd that organizations dedicated to defending taxpayers spend so much time focused on gutting farm policy.
Displays of bipartisanship are an increasingly rare sight in Washington these days, but when it comes to prioritizing the need for strong farm policies during difficult times, Agriculture Committee leadership appear to be on the same page.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, last week, released projections that farm incomes will continue to fall in 2018 and will hit their lowest point in the past dozen years.
America’s largest farms are far less risky than smaller operations and typically have fewer crop insurance claims, according to a new working paper from top agricultural economists.
Approximately 100 Hill staffers attended a pair of briefings this week that closely examined and debunked a number of farm policy criticisms leveled by the Heritage Foundation and other anti-farmer organizations.
According to the Chinese zodiac calendar, 2017 was the year of the “fire rooster,” which is also associated with the elements of gold and earth. It was fitting considering all the foreign farm subsidies that were doled out.
American agriculture will take center stage in the national discussion next week when President Trump addresses Farm Bureau members in Nashville, Tennessee.
Thank you the farmers of this nation who put food on our tables, conserve our landscape and make our economy hum.
Farmers and ranchers across America will have their voices heard in the USDA Census of Agriculture, and the data collected in the coming months will certainly help shape agricultural policy for years to come.
When you sit down at the family dinner table this Thanksgiving and count your many blessings, be sure to take a moment to acknowledge the contributions of our nation’s farmers.
Last week was busy for the anti-farm crowd in their quest to leave farmers with fewer tools to deal with depressed crop prices and weather disasters.
As Congress considers President Trump’s $1 trillion infrastructure investment plan, advocates for agriculture and rural communities are making sure lawmakers understand spending is needed not only for roads and bridges but also for broadband internet and a host of other items on the nation’s maintenance backlog.
“Here in Louisiana, it’s been more than 200 years we’ve been harvesting cane…”
“Everything has gotten bigger and faster,” he says. And more expensive, which makes today’s low and stagnant sugar prices all the more challenging.
Hurricane Irma may ultimately be blamed for $100 billion in damage across Florida, making it one of the costliest storms in U.S. history.
A new analysis by Farm Policy Facts reveals that the USDA’s projected Net Farm Income (NFI) increase is not exactly what it seems.
President Ronald Reagan’s message to America’s struggling farmers in 1982 is a message worth remembering on its 35th anniversary.
October 13, 2017 Hurricane Harvey’s toll on the southeastern Texas cotton crop is still being tallied. An expert with Texas A&M says up to 400,000 bales of cotton were still on the stalk. That could force farmers to go through the time-consuming process of trying to harvest what’s salvageable, but knowing their crop’s value will be significantly…
Hurricane Harvey is a devastating reminder of the huge risks farmers take in growing the food and fiber needed to feed and clothe the world.
“No” appears to be the only message the EWG, Heritage, PIRG, Club for Growth, and other perennial farm policy opponents are capable of delivering.
A new study by former USDA official Brandon Willis debunks The Heritage Foundation’s misleading narrative that there is no place for farm policy in America.
Farm Policy Facts is pleased to publish a guest editorial from Rep. Bob Goodlatte highlighting his efforts to improve the agricultural guestworker program in the U.S.
Wheat is complex and studying the plant is slower than the work required for others. But, U.S wheat must remain high quality and that takes research.
Understanding what foreign buyers and end users want is where the government programs are helpful. But the programs have taken deep cuts over the years.
For Musick, crop insurance is one of the most important parts of the Farm Bill and it’s one that he advocates for every time he gets a chance.
A former 2016 presidential contender and one of the most conservative members of Congress wanted to make clear his support for American agriculture.
Conservation is an important part of the business calculation on any farm, and the upcoming Farm Bill is an opportunity to make improvements to help farmers.
“It underscores why wheat farmers see crop insurance as a top priority…”
Leaders of the House Agriculture Committee want Congress to move fast on the new Farm Bill, and they will have the support of America’s largest farm groups.
Making sure America’s farmers and ranchers have the tools to compete on a global scale begins with a strong farm bill.
At the end of the day, the Agriculture Committees are the workhorses that get it done.
In that single moment, I realized that there are no guarantees and certainly not with farming. We operate at the will of Mother Nature. As a result, we have to do our part to minimize the risk as best as we can, so we can get back on our feet when a disaster strikes.
The new report entitled, “The Heritage Foundation’s Farm Policy Proposals: Harmful to U.S. Farmers and Ranchers and Ineffective in Advancing Free Trade,” addresses what the author believes are fundamental flaws in Heritage’s “blueprint” for agricultural policy, which calls for unilaterally eliminating U.S. farm policy.
It’s still unclear how things will turn out in the ongoing situation with Mexico’s subsidized sugar industry, or with China’s trade abuses against corn, rice, and wheat. But one thing is for certain: U.S. agriculture wins when it trades, and trade only works if everyone plays by the rules.
Policy experts are hopeful the momentum will continue, especially if Congress makes sound decisions regarding farm policy, which provides a foundation for the rural economy. But, there’s still a long way to go.
If the Trump administration’s first major budget plan became law, it most assuredly would harm our farmers, ranchers, and agricultural production.
I understand how crucial farming and ranching are. I also know that our agricultural producers are facing serious challenges.
Efforts to keep farmers farming during dark days are why a farm bill exists. We call it a farm bill for a reason. It all starts on the farm.
All told, farm exports account for $340 billion in economic activity and support more than a million jobs, according to Agexportscount.com.
Just hours after being sworn in as the 31st Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue had his first assignment before him.
We wish the Heritage Foundation and all opponents of farm policy would understand: there is no free market when it comes to agriculture.
As Winston Churchill once said, “if you’re going through hell, keep going.” These days, there are plenty of reasons for farmers and ranchers to be anxious and feel like they are going through a similar journey.
Farmers and ranchers have found a champion in Governor Sonny Perdue, the nominee for Secretary of Agriculture.
A group of 59 wildlife, environmental, agricultural and farm credit advocates sent letters to Congress this week asking officials to back crop insurance during budget debates.
It is more of the same as EWG tries to push another false story.
If we needed a reason for why a strong farm bill must be reauthorized without delay then this week provided one. Actually, this week provided 649,355 reasons.
“As we begin negotiations around a new Farm Bill, I for one will be an outspoken advocate for crop insurance. It is not just an ‘insurance policy’ for farmers, but also an ‘insurance policy’ against disruption and financial instability in the food production sector.”
“No one saw this large and sustained drop coming,” explained Dr. Joe Outlaw of the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University.
Americans still enjoy the lowest prices for food and basic necessities of any society due to our continued commitment and investment in sound farm policy.
As we begin 2017 with a new president, a new Congress, and soon a new, confirmed agriculture secretary, as well as an expiring farm bill, we wanted to make certain this message made it to Washington.
With a new year on the horizon, Farm Policy Facts is taking a look back at some of the top stories of 2016.
Farm policy opponents love to rail against “corporate farms.” These operations, they say, have run family farmers out of rural America. But is it true? Not according to a recent report by the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS). It is true that modern-day farms in America are no longer one-or-two acre plots plowed by oxen…
Farmers and ranchers have been dealing with “fake farm news” for years – not only from the mainstream media, but also from special interest groups.
“A lot of what Washington does is harmful to American agriculture. And, what good it does costs very little” writes former House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest.
What if we could truly open up foreign markets and create a level playing field for our farmers and ranchers that actually passes the smell test?
Farm Policy Facts is beginning a new series this month on its digital platforms called #FarmerPortraits.
As the Secretary of Agriculture, during World War II, said time and time again: “Food will win the war and write the peace.” Or, translated for modern-day: “Hold the thin green line.”
Halloween is big business these days. But how much of the record-setting revenue will be flowing to the sugar farmers that made the sweet treats possible?
There are no food lines. The grocery stores are all stocked. It is our investment in farm policy that enables this phenomenon and highlights how necessary farm policy is to our country.
With crop insurance’s popularity rising in rural America and on Capitol Hill, and with the policy’s budget outlays falling, we’re guessing one of its harshest critics, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), is running out of believable critiques. So now it’s resorted to pure fiction.
On September 13, U.S. trade officials announced that the United States was targeting China in an international trade case over the legality of its rice, corn, and wheat subsidies. The U.S. agricultural community cheered, as U.S. negotiators showed a desire to start rooting out the trade-distorting policies that are so manipulating world commodity markets.
Our nation’s farm families provide us with the safest, most abundant, most affordable food and fiber supply in the history of the world. A fact that is so true it has become a cliché.
When it comes to farming, it seems the critics always have the easy answer. They portray this line of work as if every day brings blue skies and no worries. The reality is the farming business comes with a fair share of challenges; chief among them is the unpredictability of weather and markets. Anything can…
Thank goodness we have lawmakers and officials in Washington who understand that free markets can’t exist in a world of bad actors. Thank goodness these lawmakers understand that we must not only stand up to these countries, but we must also maintain strong farm policy, in part, as a pragmatic and realistic response to those…
“Agricultural production in this country is the envy of the world. One of the reasons it has been successful is because of the investments we have made in farm policy and crop insurance through the years.”
The Heritage Foundation has long opposed U.S. farmers and ranchers having any kind of meaningful safety net to protect against weather disasters, volatile markets, and predatory trade practices abroad. So, the fact that they published a report suggesting the elimination of farm policy is not new or noteworthy.
Where would we be without our farmers? It’s a question we never want to have to answer.
As farming and farm products change to meet market needs, crop insurance will continue to adapt and expand to meet the needs of our producers.
“We find people who are vital in this country, doing something great, doing something that this country depends upon, who don’t have a voice for political reasons, or political forces organized against them and we go in there and make sure they have a platform for millions of people to hear their voices.”
A pair of videos, released this week from agricultural groups, seeks to educate Americans on the bipartisan support for America’s farmers.
India’s massive sugar handouts have kept inefficient producers in business, promoted overproduction, and helped depress global prices, according to a new study.
Crop prices are low, which means it’s high time for farm policy critics to trot out one of the most absurd criticisms of farm policy ever used.
A major medical journal with a private vetting process published a study from authors with a clear agenda to attack one part of farm policy by using old data and one title of an even older farm bill to make a dubious association between farm policy and obesity.
Agriculture continues to be a source of national wealth, an integral part of national security, the foundation of civilized society, and the pride of American families.
What I have learned during this time is this: farming is an enormous game of risk management. It’s not if something bad is going to happen, it’s when.
Farm Policy Facts is pleased to publish a guest editorial on why the farm bill is critical for growing our food and fiber supply while also protecting our natural resources.
As farmers, we have no control over weather. We have no control over markets. We have no control over our foreign competitors. We cannot just turn our operations on or off. We have to take care of the land 365 days a year. We need a safety net when commodity prices fall. We need affordable…
Earlier this month, Heritage Action CEO, Michael Needham, wrote an op-ed playing their old song that trashes farmers and farm policy that was published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. This time, in an incredible act of duplicity, Needham tried to portray the Arkansas Farm Bureau, a grassroots organization if there ever was one, of being part…
Farmers like to call themselves the eternal optimists, but these real world conditions that Chairman Conaway and others have described have provided plenty of reasons to keep them up at night. The ability to count on farm policy to get them through a tough year or more shouldn’t be one of them.
In an election year that has seen sharp divides among candidates and voters on the major issues of the day, there is one policy area that is receiving widespread, bipartisan support: farm policy and crop insurance.
Farm Policy Facts is pleased to publish a guest editorial from Rep. Jim Costa on the importance of maintaining a strong safety net for farmers.
Last week, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) sent out a report with this headline: “The Rich Get Richer: 50 Billionaires Got Federal Farm Subsidies.” The piece was meant to draw attention to the “problem” of well-known billionaires and celebrities pocketing farm subsidies. The only problem is, there isn’t a problem.
On this Earth Day, we are pleased to publish an editorial from the chairmen of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees celebrating the efforts of America’s farmers and ranchers in protecting our natural resources.
Circulating half-truths and misinformation is how agriculture’s opponents have operated for decades, and they’re not about to let pesky things like facts and expert analysis get in the way.
Farm Policy Facts is proud to publish a guest editorial from Krysta Harden, the former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
It is not every day that there is widespread agreement in our nation’s Capitol, especially when it comes to budget matters. So, it is significant to highlight when such accord is demonstrably on display.
“As Congress and the White House wrestle with their respective budgets in the coming weeks, I hope good sense will prevail and they’ll leave crop insurance and farm policy alone.”
Congressman Frank Lucas discusses how Future Farmers of America is growing the next generation of leaders, and how his membership in the local chapter as a young person helped shape and inspire a life of public service.
A new survey demonstrates a strong level of support for crop insurance among farmers growing a diverse set of crops across the country, and opposition to any legislative proposals that weaken this important risk management tool.
“Where are the women?” was not an existential question Marji Guyler-Alaniz asked herself one day after leaving her corporate job of 11 years. Rather it was a realization that the imagery – and perhaps even the perception – of the American farmer needed an update.
On this President’s Day, Farm Policy Facts combed through a bit of presidential history to find the words and views of some of our past leaders on the importance of American agriculture.
It is easier to sell fear than facts. This is a concept that the Environmental Working Group (EWG) knows all too well and has built a brand and an empire based on that business model. But, people are catching on to that game.
To dismantle U.S. sugar policy without concessions from foreign governments only puts America at a distinct disadvantage. Farm Policy Facts agrees wholeheartedly with Rep. Yoho: we stand with American workers over foreign cheaters.
If cotton production leaves our state and local communities, the infrastructure of cotton gins, warehouses and associated businesses will go with it, and history tells us it will not return.
Narobi is a good first step that publicized some of the schemes America’s competitors use to manipulate markets, and it proved that global reforms are possible.
From continued attacks on the farm safety net in Washington to a sour farm economy, Farm Policy Facts takes a look at the top agriculture stories of 2015.
The National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) recently released a new educational video to illustrate how Americans benefit from crop insurance and to push back on the tactics of farm policy opponents who try to misrepresent the facts surrounding crop insurance and other important facets of U.S. farm policy.
In the midst of dire economic conditions, U.S. cotton farmers can find encouragement from a growing chorus of support for a proposal to help mitigate their current financial struggles.
To be clear, farmers aren’t asking for a headline or a pat on the back. They’re asking for a fair shake when disasters strike and the ability to compete on a global stage. Honestly, it’s the least we can do for the folks who provide the nation with food and fiber.
Now is the time to protect the one thing beginning farmers and their bankers can count on.
It is a fact that strong farm policy and support for crop insurance goes beyond the farmer, not only benefitting rural America but consumers as well.
As President George W. Bush once said, “A nation that can feed its people is a nation more secure.” But, the reality is, the more we chip away at the investment in our national food and fiber supply, the more vulnerable we become.
If my family had kept the farm, I would have been a fourth-generation farmer of a grain operation. But they couldn’t.
“It ain’t over till it’s over,” said the great Yogi Berra. He was referring to the New York Mets’ season in 1973, but the sentiment could easily describe the fight to stave off cuts to federal crop insurance this year.
Rather than stack the deck against agriculture, let’s ensure farmers and ranchers have the tools they need to feed the world.
The United States should stop trying to balance its budget on the backs of farmers. It is bad policy, and there’s no room for further reductions.
The Farm Bill is needed now more than ever, and no thinly veiled plot by anti-farmer forces to pry open the Farm Bill is acceptable. An attack on one farmer’s policy is an attack upon all as far as we are concerned.
“Agriculture, as a whole, rose up and said enough is enough,” said Steve Verett, the Executive Vice President of the Plains Cotton Growers.
As Congress prepares to vote on a budget agreement that includes cuts to a key component of the farm safety net, Larry Combest, the former chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and the Select Committee on Intelligence, makes clear to lawmakers what is at stake if it comes to pass.
Without any consultation with America’s farmers, or apparently even elected leaders from rural America, a handful of lawmakers fast-tracked a new budget proposal that would decimate crop insurance.
The full-scale reality of what American farmers are up against when it comes to competing with foreign treasuries rather than foreign farmers was the topic of a hearing at the House Committee on Agriculture this week.
“2011 was a game changer. It altered the lives of all of us in production agriculture,” explained Rick Kellison, the project director of the Texas Alliance for Water Conservation (TAWC), during a farm tour near Lubbock, Texas where the Southwest Council of Agribusiness (SWCA) convened its annual meeting last week.
The next few years very well may be defining for the future outlook of agriculture. And the whole world has a lot riding on the outcome.
Protecting our farms is good economic policy and it is critical to the health and safety of our nation. As the proud representative of the First District of Michigan, I will do everything I can to ensure that my farmers have a voice in the decisions made in Washington.
The importance of crop insurance to meet the needs of a growing world population took center stage this week in Kansas City as agricultural leaders from more than 30 countries gathered for the International Association of Agricultural Production Insurers (AIAG) to learn more about the American system.
As a fourth generation Mississippi farmer, I grew up knowing that I worked in a field full of risks. When the weather cooperates, prices dive. When prices are great, foreign markets collapse, sending prices into a sudden nosedive. It’s always something. However, it wasn’t until I actually set out on my own in farming in…
American wheat farmers lose close to $1 billion in revenue each year because certain countries are violating trade rules under the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, according to a new study.
USDA forecasts that when all is said and done, American farmers will have a combined farm income that is less than half of what it was just two years ago. This alone is staggering. But it may well mark just the beginning of a depressed farm economy the effects of which may very well adversely…
It’s bizarre that groups claiming to carry President Reagan’s mantel, such as Heritage Action, have targeted U.S. farm policy for elimination.
“Heritage Action and groups like it had better get serious because they are losing credibility fast and they are damaging the conservative cause.”
If ever we lose the hard-working independent family farms that take care of the nation’s landscape while producing a diverse set of crops more reliably and efficiently than any farm sector in history, then, and only then will we truly understand the value they provide.
Nearly a decade ago, the World Trade Organization found the European Union guilty of violating trade rules. Since that ruling, the EU has implemented radical changes to its sugar policy. But, will those changes help further free trade and lead to a subsidy-free system as some in the EU are claiming?
Whether you’re a peach grower in South Carolina like me or a corn farmer in Iowa or a cherry grower in Michigan or a cotton farmer in Texas, crop insurance is designed to cover you when disasters strike. And the more farmers buying policies, the better we all are in the long run because that…
“The group claims it wants to measure farmers’ attitudes on crop insurance, but instead of asking unprejudiced questions, it simply requests farmers to back its inaccurate representation of crop insurance.”
Lawmakers should oppose any effort to undermine the farm safety net for any crop during the appropriations process. Congress has already held this debate, and rural Americans have made long-term business decisions based on the bill approved in 2014. To introduce uncertainty into the marketplace so soon thereafter would simply be irresponsible.
Unilateral disarmament will do nothing to help U.S. consumers or a U.S. economy that depends on a thriving agricultural sector. It will only reward China and other bad actors, while leaving hardworking American farmers powerless the next time storm clouds gather.
We cannot afford any animosity within our own ranks. It is fodder for our foes. It is an excuse for policymakers to cut up what remains of the farm safety net. It is a deterrent for recruiting the next generation of leaders on Capitol Hill and beyond.
Despite what farm policy critics would have you believe, farm policy is anything but a handout for farmers. In fact, newly released data from the National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) demonstrates that farmers are taking care of their own and in the process reducing the cost to the federal government.
Crop insurance is the cornerstone of the farm bill’s safety net and our job now is to make sure we don’t do anything to mess it up.
This recent headline says it all. The diversity of American agricultural production coupled with the varied growing conditions across the country and the swings in weather explains why farmers need a safety net. More importantly, it describes why crop insurance is the centerpiece of the farm safety net.
And a new study commissioned by U.S. sugar producers sheds light on the intricate web of Thai subsidies.
Farmers face a lot of risks the rest of us don’t. And given the capital requirements of farming today, each of these risks has big financial consequences.
The headline in a recent Wall Street Journal editorial read: “Paying for ethanol at the pump and on the plate.” It caught our eye for the fact that it doesn’t even pass the commonsense test. Gas prices are way down and projected to stay that way. So, too, are corn prices.
A financially healthy rural economy requires a financially healthy farm production sector. And that sector relies on a safety net when catastrophic events happen. It is a modest investment considering the return, which is a stable and affordable national food and fiber supply.
We have a strong foundation for cultivating the next generation of farmers in the 2014 Farm Bill, but the law needs to be fully implemented for any of this to matter. Although it is on the books for five years, it is likely to be under attack during the annual appropriations process.
Crop insurance products were improved in the recent farm bill because Congress recognized that these products are a necessity for farmers regardless of size. To me, a federally-supported crop insurance policy is defensible because a portion of the product’s cost is borne by the farmer.
In the midst of the spring planting season, a couple of farmers took to the opinion pages over the weekend to explain the importance of their primary risk management tool: crop insurance.
Some stereotypes about U.S. farm policy just won’t die. For example, the belief that farmers get paid for not growing; or that benefits just go to big agribusinesses; or that farm spending is out of control. Such criticisms make splashy headlines but are no longer relevant thanks to the significant evolution of farm policy over…
“EWG has no credibility.” Farm Policy Facts has been saying this for years about the Environmental Working Group (EWG), and it looks like quite a few Capitol Hill leaders agree. The direct quote came from House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), who spoke last week to The Hagstrom Report. Peterson was not alone…
Maintaining a modest response to the cheaters by preserving U.S. farm policy is not only the right thing to do, it is also an essential means of maintaining support for trade and the only leverage the United States has in getting our trading partners to one day tear down the walls they have been so…
There’s a reason the 2014 Farm Bill made crop insurance the centerpiece of U.S. farm policy. It is an effective risk management tool for not only farmers, but also taxpayers.
Sometimes it seems like farm policy critics are stuck in the past, using the same old set of talking points for every congressional debate instead of taking the time to update them to reflect the real reforms that are underway.
A recent study released from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) sheds light on significant trade barriers American goods and services face in some of the largest export markets like China, Canada, the European Union (EU), and others.
My husband and I have been farming in Southeastern Colorado for more than 40 years, and during that time the biggest policy change through the years has been the affordability and availability of crop insurance.
We can’t assume policymakers understand the anxiety we feel when we’re days away from harvesting a good crop and it’s destroyed in a matter of minutes by something beyond our control.
Farm Policy Facts is pleased to publish a guest editorial from U.S. Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska that addresses the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule.
Keith Mussman, a farmer and president of the Kankakee County Farm Bureau, took to the editorial pages of The Daily Journal a few days ago to express what is on the minds of farmers all across the country: give crop insurance and the 2014 Farm Bill a chance to work.
In times like these, Washington should be applauding the agricultural community for the contributions it has already made, not working to make things even harder by jeopardizing the one thing farmers should be able to count on: the just-passed farm safety net.
By Charles F. Conner Some of America’s best loved brands—Land O’Lakes butter, Blue Diamond almonds, Welch’s grape juice, Riceland, and Sunkist oranges, to name a few—come from cooperatives that are wholly owned by the men and women who actually grow the crops. The old adage that “necessity is the mother of invention” could reasonably describe…
The critics of U.S. farm policy should feast their eyes on a new study that puts into perspective what America’s farmers are up against on the global market. While the U.S. made sweeping reforms and cuts to farm policy in the 2014 Farm Bill, its competitors were busy ramping up trade-distorting subsidies for their own…
Much has been made about the President’s FY2016 budget and its proposed cuts to the risk management tools on which farmers depend. In fact, leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have been critical of the budget for its attack on crop insurance, and lawmakers recently received a pointed letter on the subject from…
The critics of farm policy are so desperate to be relevant in a town bent on reform that they continue to gin up so-called news stories where none exist, using outdated numbers to point to issues long ago corrected. Poor L.A. Times for taking the bait recently and printing propaganda, instead of real news. But,…
Last week, newspapers in two different and diverse regions of the country featured editorials on the importance of crop insurance, which highlights how it has become the risk management of choice for farmers nationwide. Steve Baccus, a family farmer from Kansas and the former president of the Kansas Farm Bureau, wrote in the Wichita Eagle that…
On the heels of the president’s budget release that proposed harmful cuts to crop insurance, a diverse group of farming organizations, agricultural businesses, banks, and equipment manufacturers sent a letter to Capitol Hill urging legislators to reject the president’s plan and to protect crop insurance in upcoming congressional budget proposals.
The merits of having a strong farm policy, including risk management tools like crop insurance, are many times overlooked, dismissed, and even criticized by the leading papers and media outlets of the day. Instead, the critics of farm policy are given far more opportunities to rail against our nation’s secure food supply and the people…
“The farm – best home of the family, main source of national wealth, foundation of civilized society, the natural providence.” One will find these wise words inscribed on the façade of Union Station in Washington, D.C. The historic site was built around the turn of the century when the nation was experiencing progress of every…
In true Ebenezer Scrooge-like fashion, opponents of farm policy used Christmas Eve as a workday to criticize the men and women who helped put holiday meals on tables from coast to coast. The attack came in the form of a Dec. 24 Wall Street Journal op-ed penned by Bruce Babcock and Vincent Smith, and…
Months after receiving preferential government loans, farmers in India soon will be allowed to walk away from their debts without repayment of either principal or interest, according to a Dec. 9 article by Bloomberg. The outlet explained how some in the India agricultural community are using the free money to expand at a time…
Matthew King, a farmer from central Ohio, recently took to the editorial pages of the Columbus Dispatch to defend America’s current farm policy. And he gave some real-world perspective on the skin-in-the-game farmers have in today’s system. “In 2013, our farming operation’s crop-insurance premium totaled more than my wife’s annual salary as a local…
When it comes to economic conditions on the farm, the theme of Reuters, Bloomberg, and some other news outlets is to speak only of bumper crops and expected higher Farm Bill costs. In the aggregate—though that is not how farmers repay their loans or obtain financing—U.S. farm income will not be up as one might…
Farm Policy Facts has long stressed the importance of crop insurance to our farm safety net. We are pleased to see these same views being echoed in mainstream media, especially in light of the number of column inches given to our critics. The following column, by farmer Matthew King, appeared recently in the Columbus…
The popularity of crop insurance was on full display during debate of the 2014 Farm Bill, and the phrase “do no harm to crop insurance” was uttered over and over again by farm leaders and policymakers alike when describing their policy goals. Lawmakers embraced the policy because, with crop insurance, farmers have skin in the…
The passage of the 2014 Farm Bill marked a pivotal point in U.S farm policy, whereby the federal government ended direct payments in favor of crop insurance that farmers purchase to meet their unique needs. Crop insurance has been around since the 1930s and for most of that time was widely underused and unknown.…
When commodity prices were strong, farm incomes were up, and the agricultural sector was credited with helping offset some of the economic misery caused by the housing crisis, not too many people seemed happy for America’s farmers. Quite the opposite. A lot of folks used the positive economic situation to attack agriculture and farm…
Thailand is a behemoth in the world rice market by anyone’s definition. Using an assortment of subsidies and government programs, Thailand had grown to become the world’s biggest rice exporter by 2011. That year, it shipped 10.6 million tons of rice – or nearly one-third of global exports. Apparently, that wasn’t good enough. In…
During its recent annual convention, the American Sugar Alliance unveiled two educational videos to illustrate the ever-increasing rates of foreign sugar subsidization that are destroying the free market. The first video described the stagnant, low-price environment in North America and steps taken by the U.S. sugar industry to increase its efficiency to survive, including…
The number of young farmers is trending modestly upwards, according to 2012 Ag Census released earlier this year. Young, beginning principal operators who reported their primary occupation as farming increased 11.3 percent from 36,396 to 40,499 between 2007 and 2012. This increase in new blood is a welcome sight for a sector that has…
Farm Policy Facts has never shied away from calling out farm policy critics for mischaracterizing agriculture, defying common sense, or twisting facts to suit their agendas. Yet for all the foolishness we’ve encountered – like comparing farmers to cheap drunks at an open bar, or critics’ close ties with Brazil, or erroneous claims of billionaires…
During the Farm Bill debate, many agricultural leaders pointed out the fact that farm policy should be written for the bad times, not the good. It appears that such challenging times might be here sooner rather than later, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) forecasting farm income to drop 14…
Sugar prices are in the tank, production efficiency in foreign countries is falling, and the globe’s growing appetite for subsidization is to blame. That was the message delivered loud and clear at this week’s International Sweetener Symposium. A four-year glut of sugar has depressed prices and cut world prices in half since 2011, Jose…
Our country is blessed with the most diverse and affordable food supply on the planet. We owe this to smart farm policy, the innovations of technology and chiefly to the “thin green line” of only 210,000 full-time U.S. farms that take on tremendous financial risks each year to produce a product that is safe,…
The following column by Senator Mike Johanns is the most recent installment in the Senator’s weekly column series. Nebraska is no stranger to the forces of Mother Nature. From violent thunderstorms and tornadoes to blizzards to drought, we’ve seen many heart wrenching examples of destructive weather. This is especially true for our state’s ag…
As you fire up the grill this Independence Day, be sure to thank a farmer, whose contributions help keep the cost of a Fourth of July feast under $6 bucks a person, according to a recent survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation. Considering Americans spend just 10 percent of our incomes on food –…
In addition to the list of harmful amendments FPF circulated earlier today, additional attempts to damage the Farm Bill have surfaced. Farm Policy Facts urges members of Congress to oppose any amendment during the appropriations process that would harm the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) or crop insurance, including: Royce Amendment to Shift USDA…
Moments after Farm Policy Facts sent out a note urging members to vote no on Rep. Ron Kind’s (D-WI) anti-privacy amendment, the Dear Colleague letter below was distributed by Reps. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Tom Rice (R-SC), and Henry Cuellar (D-TX). The Kind amendment is bad policy and should be rejected—as should all attempts to reopen…
Farm Policy Facts urges members of Congress to oppose any amendment during the appropriations process that would harm the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) or crop insurance, including: The Kind Amendment to Disclose Private Farmer Information The Kind Amendment would strip out ALL privacy protections for farmers and ranchers participating in crop insurance, resulting…
More than 30 agriculture groups are calling on Congress to oppose any amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations bill that would undo the careful compromises of the bipartisan 2014 Farm Bill, including the important risk management tools provided through the federal crop insurance program. The Farm Bill was enacted into law only four months ago and…
America’s farmers and ranchers can certainly relate to a former president’s quip that “about the time we can make ends meet, somebody moves the ends.” Producers from across the country breathed a collective sigh of relief after a four-year-long debate over a five-year Farm Bill finally came to a successful conclusion on February 7 and…
Editor’s Note: The following guest op-ed by Max Claybaker, a farmer and a crop insurance insurance agent from Blackwell, Oklahoma, appeared in The Oklahoman on Sunday, June 1. In some parts of Oklahoma, it seems like wheat farmers just can’t catch a break. A late spring freeze, combined with excessively dry or extreme drought conditions…
It is fair to say that things are a little hectic right now in farm country.Drought and fires continue their stranglehold on many farmers and ranchers while wet weather has seriously delayed planting for many others. The Farm Bill was approved by Congress only three months ago and implementation is only barely just begun. Important…
Editor’s Note: This column appeared in the May 23, 2014 edition of DTN-Progressive Farmer. Dear DTN-The Progressive Farmer: We write to clear up a few inaccuracies in your column of May 20, 2014, entitled Washington Insider: The Fight for Ag Policy Principles. First, President Bush did not veto twice or even once the 2002 Farm…
The Heritage Foundation recently published a new report detailing its 10 “guiding principles” for agriculture. As in the case of other reports, this report also departs from the respected analysis Heritage was once known for in favor of what appears to be the talking point of donors. Over the years, Heritage increasingly starts with…
The following guest editorial by Bing Von Bergen, past president of the National Association of Wheat Growers, recently appeared in the Helena Independent Record: When the 2014 Farm Bill became law, it marked a pivotal moment in the history of U.S. farm policy. The new Farm Bill eliminated direct payments and replaced them with…
On April 14, more than two months after enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (the Farm Bill), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its revised estimates of the spending baseline for farm policy. During the long debate on the Farm Bill, proponents touted savings that the Farm Bill was expected to produce —…
Nine in 10 Americans who will be celebrating Easter this year say they plan to stock up on candy, according to a National Retail Federation survey released April 9. All told, these celebrants will spend a combined $2.2 billion of Easter candy—an average of nearly $22 each—the survey found. Those sales represent an incredible…
The 2014 Farm Bill represents a big transition for a major sector of the economy. Since 1996—for the past 18 years—farmers of major field crops from across the nation have received direct payments from Uncle Sam to help abate the risks associated with production agriculture. With the enactment of the Farm Bill—the Agricultural Act of 2014—those…
When the 2014 Farm Bill was passed, Farm Policy Facts applauded lawmakers for preserving this cornerstone of the farm safety net—crop insurance. The prioritization of crop insurance in the 2014 Farm Bill stands as a clear recognition that these tailored policies are playing the most integral role in farmers’ risk management portfolio, even as…
The United States was not the only nation re-examining its farm laws right recently; although, the United States appears to be the only country making reforms and reducing overall farm policy spending. In fact, major crop producers from Brazil to India and China have been in the news recently expanding levels of subsidization. Such…
Just days after the 2014 Farm Bill was signed into law, crop insurers gathered for their annual meeting to assess where the industry had come and where it is going. One of the key architects of the Farm Bill, Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, told the crowd that they began writing the Farm Bill three…
Everybody knows at least one person like that. The person who on a picture perfect summer day, with good health and beautiful scenery to match, with not a want in the world, will still find something to complain about. You know, a walking, talking, real-life version of Waylon Jennings’ Rainy Day Woman. …
After four years of work and tireless efforts by the Agriculture Committees of both chambers, a new Farm Bill finally passed the House this week and is scheduled to be voted on by the Senate next week. If past is prologue, this immense package of policy—affecting not just the farms that nourish our nation but…
WASHINGTON—The agriculture community applauded the filing of the Farm Bill conference report on Monday, and is urging quick passage of the legislation to provide stability and support for our nation’s farmers and ranchers. Here are excerpts from statements released by key groups: The American Farm Bureau Federation: “We appreciate the hard work…
China is more than just the 800-pound gorilla in the world cotton market. The Asian giant is both the world’s biggest producer and importer. As such, China has tremendous market manipulating power that leaves other producers, including those in America, at its mercy. China provides unstinting support to its cotton farmers with the end result…
As the worst drought in three decades unfolded last year, opponents of farm programs almost gleefully predicted that taxpayers would be on the hook for $40 billion in crop insurance claims this past fiscal year. Those “experts” grossly overestimated crop insurance costs by about $26 billion. And while crop insurance indemnities in fiscal year 2013…
If you’re in need of some lining for your puppy crate, reach no further than this week’s Associated Press article about the so-called secret environmental cost of ethanol. The real secret here? How something as one-sided as this got published in the first place. Even USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has stated that the AP project…
The following editorial appeared recently in the Grand Forks Herald: OUR OPINION: Don’t take Farm Bill’s success for granted “People can debate how much help the poor should get and whether it’s optimal to deliver aid in the form of food stamps,” the Washington Post editorialized in June. “But it’s beyond debate — or should be —…
We didn’t think it could get more egregious than the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and its hired guns overestimating 2012 drought related expenses by an unbelievable $26 billion then proceeding to compare the men and women who feed America to cheap drunks at an open bar. We were wrong. EWG’s report “Billionaires cash in on…
by Tonya Allen It’s a novel concept—folks sitting down together to sort out their differences. So novel in fact, at least in the halls of Congress, that not a single Conference Committee Meeting has been held all year … until last week. The fact that the first Conference Committee Meeting of the 113th Congress…
An unprecedented flood of sugar imports from Mexico has sent refined sugar prices spiraling down 57 percent in the past 24 months. As a result, prices are currently limping along at about 25 cents per pound – back to the lows of the 1980s. Low prices are nothing new for sugar producers. Sugar prices have been…
by Rene Pastor The arms race in farm subsidies is heating up outside the U.S. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an international body comprised of 34 countries to stimulate the global economy, recently flagged the run-up in global agricultural subsidies. An OECD report released earlier this month said government support for…
By Rene Pastor It is called the Thai rice paddy pledging program. The government in Bangkok pays farmers above market prices for their rice – about $4.4 billion above market prices in the 2011/2012 crop year alone. It put the program in place to win farmer votes during parliamentary elections, and despite blowing…
During a meeting with reporters this week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack noted crop insurance “has come under unfair criticism,” adding, “Those who report on it don’t understand it and its importance to the food supply.” Vilsack was undoubtedly referencing a series of articles published by Bloomberg this week, which, according to the news outlet, thoroughly examined crop…
“Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” -Edmund Burke On the heels of weather disasters in ’83, ’84, and ’88, rural America was struggling, and lawmakers were losing patience. Compounding the problem was an unparalleled farm debt crisis. America’s food and fiber producers needed assistance, but aid was expensive and…
by Cristina Pastor Approximately 86 percent of planted cropland in the U.S. is protected by crop insurance. The end result? Even when farmers were hit with a string of natural disasters, there wasn’t a single call to Congress for expensive disaster aid. While the U.S. is acknowledged as the leader in the crop insurance industry,…
Global sugar industry leaders and U.S. government officials met in California last week at the 30th International Sweetener Symposium to discuss depressed sugar prices and recent foreign subsidy run-ups. “The accumulated world sugar surplus over the past three seasons has taken the global stocks-to-consumption ratio to above 40 percent for the first time since 2007/08,” said Peter…
Tom Sell, regular contributor to Farm Policy Facts, recently penned a response to a Politico op-ed by Scott Faber of the Environmental Working Group entitled “Worst Farm Bill Ever.” Politico does not publish letters to the editor, but the response contains important facts about farm policy and so we are publishing it here. Faber’s article was just the…
In the days before the Internet, it was difficult to really know how the general public felt about any certain issue because, except for the occasional letter to the editor, feedback from the public was scarce to non-existent. Thanks to the coming of the information age, most articles are now followed by a “comment” section,…
by Cristina DC Pastor Small-town Bourg near New Orleans boasts sprawling houses and luxury shops, including a motel for pets — it has become a pretty typical model of modern urban sprawl. But Bourg’s history, and what long-time residents would still say that keeps this parish thriving, is agriculture. Farming feeds people, said farm owner…
Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) is urging his colleagues to vote NO on an amendment proposed by Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) that aims to place additional regulatory requirements on our nations farmers and ranchers: Dear Colleague: I write to urge your strong opposition to the amendment by Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) that aims to…
Two Dear Colleagues currently circulating highlight the importance of voting NO on the Kind amendment that aims to destroy crop insurance: Oppose Kind Amendment #149 That Aims to Destroy Federal Crop Insurance FROM: The Honorable Frank D. Lucas, Chairman, House Agriculture Committee The Honorable Collin Peterson, Ranking Member, House Agriculture Committee Dear Colleague: I write…
In just about every walk of life, we look for ways to manage risk. Insurance protection is available to protect our families, our health, our homes, our vehicles. It only makes sense that insurance protection should be available to help farmers and ranchers produce something that everyone must have to survive: the nation’s food supply. Unfortunately there are…
Members of the agriculture community applauded the House Committee on Agriculture for moving forward on a five-year farm bill and called for timely action by the full House of Representatives in a letter sent to lawmakers this week. “Failure to pass a five-year farm bill before the end of September would mean continued uncertainty for…
Farm Policy Facts, a diverse coalition of agricultural organizations dedicating to raising awareness about the important role agriculture plays in our economic recovery and national security, today launched a new ad campaign, “Real Farms, Real Families.” The ad campaign, which will run during the upcoming Congressional Farm Bill negotiations, will feature real photos taken by farmers…
Guest opinion by Mark Gerdes, as appears in Ames Tribune One of the beauties of life in our great democracy is that spirited debate about important public policies is not only expected, it’s encouraged. One of the intrinsic rules of these discussions, if they are to be productive and fair, is that the policy itself should…
by Tonya Allen As Farm Bill negotiations continue, opponents of farm policy are again ratcheting up the rhetoric about all of the “rich and famous farmers” in America that are rolling in the dough. It might make for a nice sound bite, but it’s hardly the truth. There’s a “thin green line” of only 210,000…
A new comprehensive analysis of the recently released National Trade Estimates (NTE) and Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) reports show an international playing field sharply tilted against U.S. producers. The analysis, authored by veteran trade advisor and former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Don Phillips, details the many barriers and obstacles currently facing U.S. exporters (both tariff and…
On the issue of means testing in crop insurance, the devil is certainly in the details. But in order to actually find that devil, all you need is a calculator. Take, for example, the introductory remarks on the Senate floor by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), who in the context of his amendment to means test crop insurance, inaccurately stated…
by Rene Pastor It’s hard to imagine food rationing was part of daily life in the United States, especially when you can go into your grocery store of choice and buy everything from a steak to a sack of sugar. That wasn’t the reality more than 70 years ago during World War II when German U-boats…
Total government spending on farm safety net programs – including all commodity programs and crop insurance – dropped by two-thirds from fiscal years 2000 to 2012, according to data provided by USDA and the Congressional Budget Office. The reduction took place as spending on commodity programs – including direct, counter-cyclical, loan deficiency and other payments which once…
by Tonya Allen As the United States Congress begins negotiating a new five-year Farm Bill and discussing major spending reductions, Brazil, one of America’s largest competitors in the global marketplace, is doubling down its rate of subsidization. Brazilian farm subsidies increased two-fold in the past three years, according to the Brazilian government’s own recent report to the…
by Tonya Allen The old saying is that politics makes for strange bedfellows. Case in point: Brazil and U.S. farm policy critics. It’s really no surprise that these two have danced together time and time again, considering Brazil, more than any other country, has the most to gain from dismantling U.S. farm policy and weakening…
By Thomas P. Zacharias Admittedly, opponents of farm policy attract more headlines than the men and women who put food on our tables and clothes on our backs. Then again, it is far easier to get attention with sensationalist claims and unsubstantiated data. Take the drought of 2012 for example. Opponents of crop insurance made…
by Bing Von Bergen There is a lot of buzz in Washington again this year about the prospects of a farm bill. For those of us in agriculture, a five-year farm bill is one of the few things Congress can do to take some of the guesswork out of farming. That’s because farming is an…
This is the first in a series of articles that will examine the cost of failure when strong farm policy is not enacted. Food scarcity: it is not something we often think about. We are, after all, the wealthiest nation in the history of mankind. Not free of want — but certainly a land of plenty … flowing…
by Rene Pastor To many people, Brazil’s image in the sugar and ethanol market is that of low-cost operators who used their smarts and free-market philosophies to become a top producer and exporter in the world. That, it seems, is largely spin. The reality is that Brazil’s government is subsidizing its producers, while simultaneously criticizing…
by Cristina DC Pastor USA Rice Federation (USA Rice) and Ducks Unlimited (DU) recently forged a new partnership that will serve as a model of cooperation and communication between a farm group and a conservation organization. The USA Rice-DU Stewardship Partnership will address rice production, waterfowl and water conservation projects, programs and policies that are…
As crop insurers prepare for the Farm Bill and funding deliberations in the future, National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) has released a detailed question-and-answer resource laying out the facts about crop insurance and dispelling some of the most common arguments against crop insurance put forth by its critics. “Crop insurance is the single most important…
When putting together a Top 10 List of agriculture-themed videos it would be tempting to choose the ones that have gone viral and we have all enjoyed, like the epic Dodge Ram “Farmer” commercial, the “I’m Farming and I Grow It” and “Farm It Maybe” parodies, among others. Instead, Farm Policy Facts chose to use…
Farm Policy Facts has released Farm Bill 101, a current and comprehensive guide to the nine titles that make up the Farm Bill. The resource includes a title-by-title history and summary and is an essential tool for those wishing to better understand this complex package of agriculture, conservation, rural development, research and food assistance policies.…
Former USDA Chief Economist Keith Collins, Ph.D., predicts a smaller farm safety net in the future, but one that cements crop insurance. “We will see a greater evolution in the reliance on crop insurance in 2013,” Collins said. Collins stated that one only needs to look at the past few years to recognize…
by Rene Pastor It was the one thing that was on the mind of most everyone at the 2013 annual outlook conference of the U.S. Agriculture Department. Weather. Can a drought as horrific as 2012 spill into 2013? “There are … risks that we can’t control,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in his keynote speech…
As lawmakers debate the next Farm Bill, more than 40 commodity groups, lending organizations, input suppliers and other stakeholders are calling on Congress to oppose to any changes to crop insurance that would discourage producer participation in insurance or undermine private sector delivery of insurance products. “In agriculture, one thing is for certain: crop loss…
Farm Policy Facts has released its Top 10 list of agriculture-themed editorials. The list, which was shared via social media (@FPFNews, Facebook) over the past two weeks, includes guest op-eds in that have appeared in major news outlets across the country. Authors include Wesley Clark, Miss America Teresa Scanlan, former Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest…
(OVERLAND PARK, Kan.) — Critics who said that farmers who purchased crop insurance were “praying for drought, not praying for rain” or were “laughing all the way to the bank” during last summer’s historic drought were strongly rebuked by farmers, crop insurance agents and claims adjusters in a new video released today by National Crop…
Published in The Hill Congress Blog There is a huge story playing out right before our very eyes this year in agriculture that nearly everyone is missing: Despite the fact that this nation has faced two of the worst farming years in decades – with devastating drought in the Southern Plains and flooding in the…
By Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam Published in the Orlando Sentinel 2-29-13 An old proverb says; “when there is food, there are many problems; when there is no food, there is only one problem.” While we in the United States enjoy our bounty, most of the world’s population struggles mightily to feed themselves and…
By Tonya Allen The U.S. Interagency Trade Enforcement Center (ITEC) has begun a sweeping investigation into whether other countries are providing farm subsidies that violate World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, according to U.S. trade officials. Many believe the probe is long overdue, given the obvious escalation of foreign farm subsidies in many countries and their…
By Rene Pastor It seems simple enough. What is a farm? The U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) defines it as “any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the year.” “Very large farms” are defined as having gross sales of more than $500,000.…
By Cristine Pastor When the Mardi Gras celebration returned to New Orleans and the rest of Louisiana following the historic hurricanes of 2005, Jim Simon’s attendance as the resplendent King of New Iberia’s Krewe of Andalusia felt truly special. Simon is the manager of the American Sugar Cane League (ASCL), which represents Louisiana sugarcane farmers…
Mother Nature pulled few punches in 2012. By the end of June, a majority of the continental U.S. was in some stage of drought and the continued lack of rainfall, combined with historically high temperatures, conjured up images of the Dust Bowl for rural America. The focal point of this drought was America’s breadbasket, putting…
WASHINGTON (February 4) – A diverse coalition of agricultural organizations that came together during the 2008 Farm Bill debate under the name Farm Policy Facts announced today that they are stepping up education activities during the 113th Congress. Those groups, which include the American Sugar Alliance, Minnesota Corn Growers Association, National Association of Wheat Growers,…
Last week the National Journal headlined, “BIG OIL TAKES GLOVES OFF IN ETHANOL FIGHT.” The argument is this: The cost of producing ethanol from corn is food insecurity. Playing into their argument this year is the terrible drought that was and is smothering many parts of the U.S.—including the heart of our corn producing lands.…
Libertarian and environmental groups are urging the House of Representatives to oppose a five-year farm bill this fall, oppose inclusion of Direct Payments in an extension of current law, and advocate for a transparent farm bill process next year. These groups are entitled to express their views, but they also owe Congress the truth. Regrettably,…
“The weather forecast could have a big effect on America’s economic forecast next year. The more rain, the better.” That was the lead sentence in a recent article written by Jim Tankersley, the economics correspondent for the National Journal. Notice we didn’t say the “farm bill” correspondent, and Mr. Tankersley wasn’t just talking about agriculture’s…
With less than a month left in the 2012 presidential campaign, most of the country is in a pretty dark place—metaphorically speaking. Never before have candidates had so many ways in which to communicate all the mistakes their opponents have made—and so much time to do it in. Negative ads about unemployment, the national debt…
While the nation’s farmers have been busy fighting the effects of one of the worst droughts on record, certain members of the media have been busy with a fight of their own. Over the past several weeks, planted articles have downplayed the importance of farm policy and, a more recent argument accused the crop insurance…
Editor’s note: The following is a guest column written by Larry Combest, who served the people of West Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly 20 years, including as Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Agriculture. He works as a lobbyist for the firm he started with Tom…
Our nation’s farmers are less optimistic about their circumstances than they were in March, according to a recent survey published by DTN/The Progressive Farmer. Some high (and some low) lights from the survey report that, based on a benchmark rating of 100: – – Current conditions are considered to be 120.4, down from 140.2 earlier…
The U.S. food and beverage industry should be proud. This week, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that they added 4,800 food manufacturing jobs in August, as well as an additional 4,200 related jobs in food and beverage stores, 28,300 in food and drinking establishments, and 28,000 in accommodation and food services, making them a…
By Rene Pastor On land where wheat stalks, heavy with grain, would normally wave on a breeze in the late summer, the searing drought of 2012 has zapped nearly every inch of land across the Kansas plain, leaving it burnt and lifeless. There was no way to hide from the drought in the Grain Belt.…
They want a Farm Bill, and they want it now. A coalition of more than 80 agricultural organizations – spanning a variety of commodities and interests – has banded together to deliver one, simple message: Let’s pass a Farm Bill. The message – which started as statement and quickly got picked up by the Tulsa…
Two years ago, The Hand That Feeds U.S. reported on a phenomenon known as “sticky prices,” something that occurs when crop prices go down, but food prices remain high. Theses two variables are often considered one in the same but are really very independent of one another. The crop or “commodity” price is what farmers…
The Hand That Feeds U.S. (THTFUS) has launched a new, interactive map, featuring facts about each state’s agricultural production and its contribution to the U.S. economy. The map, located on the group’s website, is yet another step taken by the “educational resource” to inform Americans about the vast reach of our agricultural system (did you…
As one of history’s longest, most widespread droughts continues to suffocate crops and livestock nationwide, the importance of crop insurance is becoming increasingly obvious to those in agriculture. Yet, despite what the vast majority of the farmers and ranchers who are being affected by the drought and counting on the reliability and efficiency of crop…
As the members of the Ag Committee await the fate of the Farm Bill that was recently marked up by their committee and sent to the House leadership for possible floor time, a widespread and deepening drought is gripping the nation and sending shock waves through commodity markets. A drought specialist with the national weather service…
A coalition of more than 75 farm groups sent a letter to House Agriculture Committee Chair Frank Lucas and Ranking Member Collin Peterson, to thank them for their support in moving the Farm Bill forward, and urge them to continue momentum. “Farmers need certainty about farm policy as they make annual operating decisions,” the letter…
According to the American Academy of Actuaries, “for a risk pool to remain viable, it must be of sufficient size and comprised of a broad cross section of risks.” In other words, in order for risky folks to have access to affordable insurance, less risky people need to participate too. This is true whether you’re…
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has released its latest rendition of the farm subsidy database, and this one really is a piece of work. Though Farm Policy Facts has been monitoring (and debunking) EWG attacks on rural America since 2007, EWG continues to spin complicated webs of half-truths to garner media headlines. Five years ago…
Although extreme environmental groups and other high-powered special interests have spent millions of dollars lobbying against U.S. farm policy in the halls of Congress and in the editorial pages of major newspapers, a new poll finds that they are not getting traction with the American public. According to the Congressional Connection Poll, conducted by Princeton…
With payments from crop insurers to farmers approaching the $11 billion mark, 2011 will go down in the record books as one of the most destructive and costliest weather years in history. A new video series recently launched by National Crop Insurance Services captures the human side of the issue, with testimonials from farmers, a banker,…
For those who have espoused the view that farm policies have made unhealthy food inexpensive and have thus contributed to the over-consumption of junk food, USDA says it’s time to think again. A new study, titled “Are Healthy Foods More Expensive,” found that previous assumptions about junk food being less expensive were based on a biased…
The 2012 Farm Bill will include major funding cuts for America’s agricultural sector, and these reductions will come on top of the more than $15 billion in cuts made to farm policy in recent years to help Washington tame its crippling deficit. The scene being played out in other countries, however, is much different. While…
The House Agriculture Committee spent much of last week discussing the future of farm policy and what the upcoming Farm Bill needs to look like in order to carry us through the various challenges that lie ahead. Testimony was presented and submitted on behalf of several farm groups, and is included below, along with accompanying…
New York City is the fashion and financial capital of the world. Hollywood has been home to some of history’s greatest actors and agents. Detroit is known for harboring America’s auto industry, and Pittsburgh will always be able to claim that its steel helped make America. Each industry has its place in our nation’s fabric,…
Earlier this week, National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) released the first of what is to be a series of educational videos explaining the importance of crop insurance and its functionality among American agriculture. In this video, aptly titled “Crop Insurance 101,” Tom Zacharias, president of NCIS, reviews the history of the program, why it was…
Capitol Hill has been blanketed by propaganda in recent weeks from a fancy grasstops coalition comprised of the same-old-same-old opponents of sugar policy. After years of lopsided legislative defeats, the Sweetener Users Association (SUA) and National Confectioners Association (NCA) appear to have opted for a rebranding and renaming effort. So what should be made of…
DODGE CITY, KS (April 20) – Texas cotton producer Woody Anderson said here today that Congress needs to approve a new farm bill this year and one that will provide American farmers the key to long-term viability — effective risk management opportunities. A former chairman of and now advisor to the National Cotton Council, Anderson…
Unfortunately, when it comes to getting out the facts on U.S. farm policy, the First Amendment may not be enough because some in the media have decided readers should get only one side of the story. In the past, we have printed many letters to the editor and columns responding to an attack on farm…
U.S. agriculture is a driving force in our national economy, helping to lift the U.S. out of two economic recessions in the past 12 years, working to reduce our country’s trade deficit, and making our nation and world more secure by ensuring that food is safe, abundant, and affordable. And cost-effective U.S. farm policy that…
The Senate Agriculture Committee met last week to discuss the future of agriculture’s risk management system and how best to maintain or alter its components in the upcoming Farm Bill. Below is a compilation of testimony presented and submitted for the hearing, as well as accompanying press releases. American Sugar Alliance: Testimony. Press Release. Crop…
As Congress gears up to write another Farm Bill, some of rural America’s representatives have been urging their colleagues to act swiftly in order to keep one of America’s few remaining economic powerhouses productive. “The time to complete a farm bill is now. This Congress cannot afford to take another jobs bill down to the…
The United States recently filed a case against India in the World Trade Organization (WTO) hoping to unclog trade channels for U.S. poultry producers. “India’s ban on U.S. poultry is clearly a case of disguising trade restrictions by invoking unjustified animal health concerns,” U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said via a press release. “The United…
A new study by Health Economics throws a bucket of cold water on assertions that try to blame U.S. farm policies for obesity rates. “Contrary to common claims in the popular media, farm policies have more likely slowed the rise in obesity in the United States,” the study finds. The authors note that “[Michael] Pollan…has…
From Commodity Classic (Nashville, Tenn.) – The following statement on the 2012 farm bill was released today by: National Corn Growers Association President Garry Niemeyer, a corn grower from Auburn, Ill.; National Association of Wheat Growers President Wayne Hurst, a wheat producer from Burley, Idaho; American Soybean Association President Steve Wellman, soybean farmer from Syracuse,…
By Larry Combest Growing up and working on my own family farm during hard times, and devoting much of my adult life to U.S. agriculture, it is a source of pride that I was privileged to help put in place the kind of farm policies that pulled the sector out of crisis and have contributed…
Bloomberg News ran an editorial titled “Farmers Making $100 Billion Don’t Need Subsidies to Grow” that was picked up by a handful of newspapers. The title alone struck a nerve in rural America. Farmers and ranchers who have suffered everything from severe drought to unforgiving wind and rain, and in many cases, the loss of…
Together, America’s farmers make up an economic powerhouse. They are a cornerstone of this nation’s security and prosperity—an engine leading us toward an economic recovery—and yet, so often, their value is taken for granted or overlooked. But America’s farmers are not just creating wealth here at home, they are buttressing the whole world — a fact that…
You have to hand it to the National Association of FSA County Office Employees (NASCOE). While nearly everyone else is calling on the private sector to do more and the government to do less, NASCOE is proposing to expand the role of government by urging Congress to end the highly successful private sector delivery of…
As a former chief economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture I can attest to the fact that farming is indeed a risky business. News reports out of USDA’s Risk Management Agency underscore that point all too clearly: With some 15 percent of all crop insurance claims yet to be processed, crop insurance companies have…
Given Bloomberg News’ expertise in financial markets and the U.S. economy, their editors’ unexpected attack on one of America’s few fiscal success stories came as a big shock. Agriculture—and by extension, America’s food and fiber supply—isn’t worth much government investment, Bloomberg’s editors surmised in a January 30 opinion piece. Try telling that to the 21…
Agricultural leaders representing most major crops convened January 31 and February 1 in Washington, D.C., to discuss the 2012 Farm Bill. Hosting key policy staff, administration officials, and industry experts, the groups gained a new depth of knowledge on which to build their discussions. From the meeting, there was a consensus that the agricultural community…
Agriculture is a unique industry in so many ways. One particular way—it is perhaps the only area of the federal budget to have shrunk in the past 10 years, yielding cuts even as it was coming in under budget. Funding for farm policy over the last five years (’07-’11) averaged $12.9 billion per year. This…
With claims still streaming in — only an estimated 81 percent of expected claims have been finalized — crop insurance companies have already paid out a record $9.1 billion in indemnity payments to America’s farmers in 2011. This has already surpassed the former record of $8.67 billion in indemnities paid in 2008, according to USDA’s…
Western Sugar, a company now owned by farmers, closed its Goodland, Kan., sugarbeet factory in 1985. Sugar prices were low, the cost of doing business was climbing, and tough decisions were made that hurt workers and farmers. The Kansans who lost their jobs weren’t alone. From 1985 to 2008 low sugar prices remained stagnant as…
Opponents of U.S. ethanol—Brazil, Big Oil, and multinational food conglomerates looking to drive down farmer prices to boost their own profits—have a tendency to blame the alternative fuel for just about everything. And just when we didn’t think it could get more absurd than the off-the-wall argument that American corn farmers are to blame for…
As the United States Congress begins debate of the 2012 Farm Bill, America’s biggest competitors on the global marketplace have been steadily increasing their rates of subsidization, according to a study by DTB Associates. And one of the biggest offenders is also one of the biggest agricultural superpowers and biggest critics of U.S. farm policy:…
Agriculture has had a strong year. We’ve been reading reports of farms prospering for the better part of a year now. In October it was said that Iowa’s corn and soybean crop alone would almost quadruple the state’s budget. Just last month, the USDA announced that farm exports reached a record high of $137.4 billion…
A new study of official foreign government data unearthed by DTB Associates shows that a rapid run-up in farm subsidies have put many developing nations, including Brazil Thailand, and India, in direct violation of internationally agreed to subsidization limits. The findings are consistent with a detailed handbook of foreign farm subsidies by Texas Tech University,…
The nation’s capital has become synonymous with gridlock—and not just because it is home to one of the worst commutes in the country. With elections looming and elected leaders from both sides of the aisle dug in, Congress and the Administration have put the brakes on nearly everything. But a debt reduction bill crafted by…
Following its anti-farm editorial last week, The Washington Post received two letters to the editor taking exception with its extreme stance. Not surprisingly, the newspaper failed to publish either letter, so Farm Policy Facts obliged. ——– Dear Editor: By any reasonable measure, your calling for the termination of U.S. farm policy is extreme. The Post…
Sitting on a combine for 12 hours a day harvesting corn and soybeans gives a person a certain degree of clarity, combined with long blocks of time to think and analyze. Looking at the corn I’m harvesting, I marvel at the fact that somehow, my family farm managed to dodge the many bullets Mother Nature…
Shoppers won’t be scared off by a rocky economic outlook this Halloween. And their appetite for delicious candy is certain to be a treat for America’s thriving confectionery industry. “Consumer spending for Halloween is expected to be spirited this year, with sales of $6.9 billion, up from $5.8 billion in 2010, according to a National Retail Federation…
Short of a farm bill vote, or a piece of agricultural legislation moving across the President’s desk for signature, big-city newspapers rarely focus on farm-related news. But that’s exactly what happened recently. It began on October 23 when the Houston Chronicle credited crop insurance with saving “Texas farmers from ruin.” More than 41,000 farmers in…
Critics of farm policy often like to label it a “New Deal” policy. Their hope is to make the policies that underpin the best food system in the history of the world sound outdated. Never mind the fact that farm policies have undergone radical changes since that time to keep pace with modern challenges and…
October 19, 2011 Dear Senator: We urge you to oppose amendments to the Fiscal Year 2012 Agriculture Appropriations Bill that propose to alter or negatively affect the mandatory funding for U.S. farm policies. As you know, the agriculture appropriations bill, as reported by the committee, fully complies with discretionary spending guidelines. This is the end…
October 31, 2011 marks a milestone that might be far more frightening than the ghosts and goblins that will be roaming the streets that night. According to an official United Nations report, the world’s population will peak at 7 billion people on that day. And future projections show a rapid ascent to 9 billion by…
It’s no secret that agriculture is vital to the American economy. Each state is unique in its ability to produce, add value to, and package products that not only make up our own food supply, but also fuel a booming global export industry that continues to thrive, despite the current economic climate. Recently, the Federal…
This state’s motto is “Strength from the Soil.” It appears on the coat of arms, as well as the governor’s flag—and for good reason. North Dakota literally draws its economic strength straight from the soil—almost 90 percent of which is dedicated to farming. Agriculture makes up about 32 percent of the state’s economy. Even the…
The Administration is pushing a new plan that would injure one of the few sectors in our economy that is actually creating jobs and helping offset an otherwise gloomy fiscal situation. As has happened in three of the last six years, rural America is being called upon to give more than its fair share in…
With the floodwaters rising and the nation’s attention focused on the looming Midwest destruction, government officials asked me to make an enormous sacrifice. They needed my farmland to extend and build up a levee to hold back an unprecedented wall of water. If I said yes, it would save millions of dollars for businesses, homes…
Tourists may go to Georgia to pick the peaches, but the state’s agricultural production reaches far beyond those bountiful branches. Georgia ranks first in the country in production of peanuts, pecans, rye, eggs and broilers. In fact, Georgia produces almost half of the peanuts produced in the United States each year—an operation that valued more…
The House Agriculture Committee Chairman and Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member released the following statement on Sept. 19, 2011. Lucas & Roberts Respond to the President’s Debt Plan WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Frank Lucas (R-OK), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, and U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee,…
By all accounts, 2011 looked like a banner year for American agriculture. In May, despite flooding and late planting, USDA forecasted a record crop in corn—by far America’s largest row crop—of 13.5 million bushels, covering 92 million acres of prime farmland. With corn being an important crop domestically—producing food, fuel, and feed—and being a huge export…
As the 46th state to join the Union, Oklahoma may have been a little late to the party, but when it arrived, it had plenty to offer. Aside from the strong winds and thunderstorms that Oklahoma is known for (thanks to a popular show tune), the state is blessed with a productive agricultural system, the…
As Congress recessed in August, overworked staffers breathed a sigh of relief, anxiously awaiting some well-deserved peace and quiet. Then the earth shook…literally. And the earthquake that rocked DC was followed by a damaging hurricane, which was followed by an entire week of non-stop rain and flooding from a tropical storm. Then Congress came back…
Agriculture is collectively holding its breath as the “super committee” meets to determine where the $1.2 trillion worth of federal budget funds will be cut. Having already shouldered more than $12 billion in cuts for deficit reduction in the past several years, farmers and ranchers feel the pain that other sectors have yet to experience.…
While Michigan may be known for its lakes and its cars, its economy is fueled by ten million acres of land: farmland that is. Michigan can grow more than 200 products that contribute to the nation’s food and fiber supply—making it the second most diverse agricultural state in the nation and a virtual America in…
It’s no great surprise when a well-funded libertarian think tank full of Washington policy wonks pushes for the belief that the federal government should not be involved in crop insurance and other key farm policies. But those of us in farming know better. All we need to do is to remember the recent floods, droughts…
Texas is an exceptional state, and most Texans will be happy to explain why that’s so. Unfortunately, for this year, that term also applies to the bone-dry conditions we’ve seen unfold over the last 12 months. Texas, it seems, is locked in what weather experts call “an exceptional drought,” something many parts of the state…
In the film classic, “12 Angry Men”, jurors deliberate the fate of an accused on trial, the outcome of which could mean life or death. 11 of the 12 walked into the jury deliberation room ready to return a guilty verdict without a discussion, some because of personal, long-held prejudices and others because they just…
Issue Summary: Having a strong agricultural sector that provides an abundant and affordable supply of food and fiber is key to any country’s security, which explains why most countries have farm policies in place to help promote and sustain domestic production. A key component to America’s food, fiber, and farm policy is crop insurance, a…
Issue Summary: Ethanol is the only commercially viable biofuel alternative to gasoline available in the U.S. today. In addition to creating thousands of jobs, cutting emissions and reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil imports, grain ethanol is also a bridge fuel technology, which, along with second generation biofuels, has the potential of eventually replacing up…
Farm Bill to Determine Future Success Stories about the post 2008 credit crunch conjure up immediate feelings of anxiety and churning stomachs as many remember what was the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Banks that survived the crash became much more stringent about who they provided loans to. Consumers wishing…
Sugar is an important ingredient in the U.S. food supply and is found in almost everything we eat. In addition to desserts and other treats, sugar makes wholesome food more palatable, acts as a bulking agent in baking, and is a key preservative that keeps foods from perishing. Following massive sugar shortages caused by dependence…
Issue Summary: The National Journal recently reported about the ongoing budget discussions on Capitol Hill: Fiscal watchdogs and lawmakers from both parties have painted the clash as an opportunity to make a significant step toward shifting the country off its unsustainable path, but a deal that doesn’t address revenue and entitlements, which would likely have…
I believe there to be a set of basic guiding principles that should direct Congress’s work on the Farm Bill. Foremost, we must recognize that U.S. agriculture is an intricate component of our jobs, economy, and national security. Basing arguments and legislative proposals on pure emotion and skewed statistics is reckless and opens the door…
When I first got word that Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan, was interested in helping spread agriculture’s good message, I had some reservations. Blinded by stereotypes and generalizations, I figured an 18-year-old pageant winner couldn’t possibly be an effective spokesperson for an industry as serious and established as agriculture. An industry this revered, I thought,…
Though not often thought of as a Mecca for farmers—as one of the original 13 colonies, Maryland has always been a major player when it comes to agriculture and this country’s economy. In fact, agriculture is Maryland’s largest industry, supporting over 350,000 jobs and generating more than $2 billion in revenue. Outside the sprawling metropolitan…
By an overwhelming bi-partisan majority, the Senate Agriculture Committee passed a House bill that will remove costly and redundant regulatory burdens on producers while providing no environmental or consumer benefits. The bill, which passed on a voice vote in the Senate committee, had easily passed the House by a very large, bi-partisan margin. The vote…
Located in the middle of the heartland, Iowa has developed a reputation for being everything that is quintessential America. It’s hard to believe it ever belonged to France. Thankfully, our founding fathers had the foresight to purchase the territory that would one day become a booming economic engine and top agricultural exporter. Iowa is often…
When Congress takes up the next farm bill, there will be a lot more at stake than just the future of farmers and ranchers. Economic recovery for the nation as a whole, which is being underpinned by rural lenders and farmers’ buying power, also will be on the table. At the end of last year,…
More than 130 organizations spanning the breadth of the agricultural spectrum – from small community based groups to the largest commodity trade associations – informed President Obama and Congressional leaders of their strong opposition to efforts to balance the federal budget on the backs of farmers and rural America. “We are extraordinarily concerned about the…
The weather has been so wild and so unpredictable this year that it’s not just farmers who are complaining about it. Here in the Corn Belt, it’s been cold and damp for so long that it took us forever to get our crop in. Parts of the Southwest wheat belt are parched, while millions of…
Amid the long list of federal projects costing taxpayers far more than predicted, one policy stands alone by coming in billions of dollars under budget. From 2007 to 2011, this policy trimmed taxpayer spending 31 percent when compared with the same four-year period a decade earlier. It even found room to contribute to deficit reduction…
The absurdity arguably began one chilly Monday night in December 2003. ABC aired a “news” program linking farm policy to the nation’s obesity epidemic. At the time, farmers cried foul and some even threatened to boycott the network. The notion that U.S. commodities were too cheap and that, if Congress super-sized subsidies for asparagus and…
Nebraska is well-known for its high rate of agricultural production. The state leads the nation in per capita agricultural output, generating about $15 billion—five percent of the U.S. total—despite being the 13th least populous state with just over 1.8 million residents. And with almost 93 percent of Nebraska’s land now used for farming, the area…
In the May 17 issue of the National Journal Daily it was reported that the Vice President’s working group had not yet settled on a plan to raise the debt ceiling while cutting federal spending, but that the group may be coalescing around even deeper cuts to U.S. farm policy. All week there have been…
It may be the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but in Minnesota, agriculture reigns supreme. With 81,000 farms occupying about 26.9 million acres of farmland—almost half of the state—Minnesota leads the nation in the production of several commodities including sugar beets, turkeys, and oats, as well as sweet corn and green peas for processing. The state…
As the nation struggles to regain its economic footing after the real estate bubble burst and nearly thrust this country and the world into another Great Depression, a new bubble may be emerging. Increasingly, economic experts are keeping an eye on America’s farms, which were collectively valued at about $2 trillion last year. While this…
John Henry Newman wrote that, “The truer doctrines are, the more liable they are to be perverted.” But you didn’t have to live in Victorian England to get the recently beatified Cardinal’s point. In fact, in modern day Washington, we have reached the stage where anytime anyone even mutters the truth it’s worth popping a…
We have been taught from an early age that humans have four basic needs: food, water, clothing and shelter. Interestingly enough, it is the U.S. farm sector that provides two—food and clothing—out of those four needs. This fact puts farming and the programs that protect farmers from adversity—the farm safety net—pretty high on this country’s…
Growth Energy, a leading ethanol association, sent a letter on April 12 to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee about its upcoming hearing on the renewable fuel. The text of the letter, which outlines ethanol’s importance to the country, can be found below. Dear Chairman Boxer and Ranking Member Inhofe: As the leading trade…
WASHINGTON (April 4, 2011)— In his December 1957 National Review column, “Big Sister Is Watching You,” Whittaker Chambers tore apart Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged for a lot of reasons, many of which remind me of today’s critics of U.S. farm policy. For instance, Chambers said that Rand “deals wholly in the blackest blacks and the…
Throughout the past three years, there has been a deliberate effort to distort the truth about American ethanol’s ability to provide both fuel and food in this country, mostly from companies that seek to profit from high grocery store prices. Anyone who is involved in America’s rural economy values the economic opportunity offered by ethanol…
It’s always the same. Food prices rise, grocery bills get bigger, and the media take to their exposes about big, bad agribusiness taking money from the cash-strapped American consumer. But a recent study released by the USDA, may have some reporters rewriting their copy. The report, titled, “A Revised and Expanded Food Dollar Series: A…
On Feb. 17, at least one senior House member suggested that the week’s hearings on the state of the farm economy may have marked the beginning of the 2012 Farm Bill debate. I believe the whole week may have. The week was kicked off with the annual nonevent of the President’s budget submission to the…
The men and women of American agriculture are as diverse as the crops they grow, but they all seem to share one thing in common these days: a general distrust of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Earlier this month, this distrust was on display at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 92nd annual conference. In addition…
Earlier this month, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that U.S. farm exports reached an all-time high of $116 billion in 2010. “Export sales surged…in bulk commodities, which increased 19 percent to $47.2 billion,” he noted. This is great news for America, Vilsack said, because agricultural exports drive economic activity and create jobs. “Every $1 billion…
Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman, U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry USDA 2011 Outlook Forum February 24, 2011 Crystal City, VA I’m so proud to represent the Great State of Michigan, where we know how to build things and grow things. Agriculture is incredibly important to Michigan’s economy — I know a lot of…
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City might have well asked, “do you want the good news or the bad news,” prior to releasing two recent white papers about the farm economy. On one hand, the Fed bolstered spirits by noting that agriculture has been in the driver’s seat of America’s recent economic recovery. On…
Those of us in the farming community have long complained that big-city newspaper editorial boards are quick to bash farm policy but rarely print letters submitted in defense of the world’s safest, most affordable, abundant food and fiber supply. In fact, we’ve given an online home to some of these unpublished letters. But farmers are…
Last week, tourists and congressional staffers walking down Independence Avenue near the U.S. Capitol building were treated to an unusual site: a wheat field growing smack in the middle of downtown Washington, DC. It was all part of the Wheat Food Council’s Urban Wheat Field, an event designed to teach Americans a little bit about…
WASHINGTON (June 18, 2010)—Sometimes, it’s better to get something right late than never at all. In the case of agriculture, the time is now, and one organization is refocusing its attention in the right direction. In a recent meeting, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (a group of 31 wealthy, market-oriented countries) shifted its…
WASHINGTON (May 19, 2010)—The agricultural community gave valuable advice to the Obama Administration last week as it looks to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), a wide-ranging trade deal has become a focus of the White House and would encompass a variety of farm commodities. In a letter to Ambassador Siddiqui, the Chief Agricultural Negotiator,…
WASHINGTON (April 15, 2010)—Even though federal spending on farm policy continues to come in under budget, U.S. farmers continue to come under attack. Most recently, crop insurance-an essential component of the farm safety net-has found itself in the Administration’s crosshairs. But these internal attacks seem to be isolated to the United States. One of America’s…
WASHINGTON (April 13, 2010)—In a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on Friday, the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and other leading farm groups voiced their serious concerns over reductions to the budget baseline for agriculture that would result from the renegotiation of the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA), the contract between the USDA and…
WASHINGTON, DC (March 17, 2010)—Key U.S. senators sent a letter this week to President Barack Obama opposing proposed cuts to federal agriculture budget. “Cutting farm programs in the midst of an economic downturn sends the wrong signal to rural America,” noted Republican Senators Saxby Chambliss (GA), Pat Roberts (KS), John Thune (SD), Thad Cochran (MS),…
WASHINGTON (March 16, 2010)—One of the nation’s biggest agricultural trade groups underscored its support of the farm safety net, including crop insurance, at its annual conference today and overwhelmingly passed a resolution opposing needless budget cuts to farm policy. The National Farmers Union (NFU), which represents more than 250,000 family farmers, adopted the policy at…
WASHINGTON (March 12, 2010)—Special interests with no real hands-on experience on the farm are threatening the very policies that will be essential to feeding a growing world population, according to a major ag lender. “[T]he group of people who are formulating food system policy and regulatory frameworks have expanded beyond . . . the traditional…
by: National Cotton Council The CQ Weekly cover story on U.S. cotton policy and the U.S. cotton industry is steeped in error, surprising bias, and fallacy. The author used every tried and true tactic to distort the picture — from sentence structure to carefully missing facts. The Brazil WTO case was based on U.S. farm…
WASHINGTON (Feb. 5, 2010)—Just moments after President Obama released his much-anticipated budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, widely respected Congressional leaders on both sides of the political aisle voiced displeasure. “Put simply the President’s proposal picks winners and losers,” Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) said in a statement. “By targeting policies that…
Opening Statement of the Honorable Blanche L. Lincoln, Chairman Hearing on Expanding Our Food and Fiber Supply through a Strong U.S. Farm Policy June 30, 2010 “Good morning, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry will now come to order. “This is the first in a series of hearings to help this Committee prepare…
In their crusade against the cotton industry, Post editors are quick with inflammatory adjectives but short on facts when it comes to agricultural policy and trade disputes. They cite historical spending but decline to note that spending on the price-based provisions involved in the Brazil dispute likely will be zero for the 2010 crop. They…
WASHINGTON (Jan. 14, 2010)—U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., today noted comments by U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk strongly defending the U.S. position at the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting last December in Geneva. In a letter to Kirk, the Senators praised…
By: Larry Combest Since the G-8 Leaders and five of their developing country counterparts set 2010 as the end date for completion of the Doha Round at the July Summit, there have been multiplying pledges of fealty to the Round, culminating in the alleged “breakthrough” at the meeting of Trade Ministers in New Delhi earlier…
By DeVonna Zeug It’s an odd thing—on one hand Uncle Sam is looking for ways to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to spur jobs creation and economic recovery while on the other hand Washington is proposing a plan that I fear will destabilize crop insurance that we farmers need, lenders require, and billions of…
WASHINGTON (Dec. 7, 2009)—In an era of bulging deficits, there is one area of the federal budget—farm policy—that’s actually coming in well below projections, according to new Congressional Budget Office figures analyzed by Farm Policy Facts. Relative to budget projections made in 2002, farm policy in the 2002 and 2008 farm bills has saved taxpayers…
WASHINGTON (November 24, 2009)—Two top-level trade officials in the Obama administration recently told Congress what they thought of the trade deal currently on the table at the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Senators liked what they heard. “No deal is better than a bad deal” was the common refrain during the Senate Finance Committee’s nomination…
October 15, 2009 Jason Aldean Spalding Entertainment 1025 16th Avenue South Suite 103 Nashville, TN 37209 Dear Jason, On behalf of America’s farm and ranch families, I want to publicly thank you for bringing greater attention, through your music, to the challenges face. Those involved in agriculture here in the United States work hard every…
MEMPHIS (Aug. 31, 2009)—In response to the WTO Arbitration Panel decision released today, NCC Chairman Hardwick stated that, “We are pleased that the arbitration award is far less than requested by Brazil, that the Panel provided no award with respect to the Step 2 cotton program, and that Brazil is not authorized to cross-retaliate at…
WASHINGTON (Aug. 24, 2009)—Ten U.S. Senators sent a bipartisan letter to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week urging its Risk Management Agency (RMA) to approach upcoming negotiations over the Federal Crop Insurance Program with great care. Led by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Senator Saxby Chambliss (GA), the Committee’s…
By: Larry Combest WASHINGTON (July 30, 2009)—This spring, world politicians once again revisited the idle Doha Round of international trade negotiations, doing so first at April’s G-20 Economic Summit. Here, a pledge was secured that the key players in the world economy remained “committed to reaching an ambitious and balanced conclusion” to the Doha Round…
WASHINGTON (June 30, 2009)—Ideally, implementing rules provide a clear-cut “yes” or “no” for newly passed laws. Not so with the 2008 farm bill’s changes on disaster assistance, payment limitations, and eligibility provisions, which have left farmers with a lot of “maybes”… and a lot of confusion. Industry groups including the American Farm Bureau Federation (www.fb.org),…
Beheading awaited a French Queen in the 1700s when she was reported to have said, “let them eat cake,” after learning the peasants had no bread. Yet with more than 1 billion hungry people around the globe today, praise awaits the modern day version of this statement—”let them eat organic.” In the world where organic…
WASHINGTON (Jun 08, 2009)—Members of the agricultural community have a money message for Congress – don’t pull funding from the 2008 farm law in budgeting for the year ahead. Forty-three organizations, among them the nation’s largest farm associations, crop insurance providers, and agricultural lenders, petitioned the House Appropriations Committee in a letter last Thursday to…
Three decades ago, TIME magazine took an in-depth look at “The New American Farmer”. At the time of their feature, the business of farming was rapidly shifting from the inefficient, tiny farms that dominated the 1930s, to larger-scale family run operations that need to be adept at business, engineering, and technology to keep up with…
In addition to bad hairdos, Woodstock, and butterfly collars, the ‘70s also brought with it groundbreaking technologies that propelled many U.S. businesses into a new era. Farming was no exception. But the new technologies that improved efficiency and boosted yields came with a hefty price tag. The cost of farming skyrocketed during the decade, and…
opponents tell it, you’d think most farmers are raking in the big bucks. But anyone who’s been around the business knows that’s never been the case. The margins in farming are as thin today-maybe thinner-as when TIME magazine had this to say in a 1978 cover story “The New American Farmer“: To succeed in this…
Giving Thanks to an Extraordinary Example for Us All I met many wonderful people on my journey through the West Texas farmlands, but few as remarkable as Beth Clanton. Eleven years ago, Clanton was a second grade school teacher in Seminole, Texas. Her husband was a peanut and cotton farmer, and together, they had two…
Nowadays, it’s pretty difficult to get a mainstream news organization to pay much attention to the business of farming or the importance of the profession to the country. Big-city reporters today tend to focus on the sensational and the conflicts created by a handful of over-zealous farm opponents. Apparently, it hasn’t always been this way.…
The Boston Globe’s May 26 editorial against farmers and farm policy was nothing new—it included the arguments opponents of agriculture have been using for years. What was new was the speed with which the agricultural community responded to these attacks to point out the misinformation, and in some places, completely erroneous claims. Former Agriculture Committee…
An elected official, Terry Wanzek is well known and well liked around North Dakota. In fact, the state senator from Jamestown has represented the people of the 29th district since 1995—except for one interrupted term in 2005. That’s when a political opponent went on the attack and demonized Terry for his full-time career, riding a…
WASHINGTON (Apr 02, 2009)—A national poll conducted by Harris Interactive two weeks ago found that nine out of 10 Americans felt it was important to grow food at home instead of relying on imports. These results were not surprising to Larry Combest, the former Chairman of both the House Intelligence Committee and the House Agriculture…
Often times you’re told to play the hand you’re dealt, and after the 2008 farm bill was signed into law, Chuck Coley had planned to do just that. A cotton and peanut grower in west Georgia, Coley is no stranger to the notion that in this business, you need to adapt. As an active member…
WASHINGTON (Mar 26, 2009)—The government is on a spending spree, funneling billions to big business and “toxic assets.” Amazingly, one minute expense—America’s farmers—briefly found their way into the cost-cutting crosshairs when President Obama released his budget proposal. The outcry over proposed cuts to the farm safety net was fierce. Powerful lawmakers from both parties and the…
WASHINGTON (March 23, 2009)—Prompted by President Obama’s proposed budget—which would gut the farm safety net and exclude many full-time farmers from federal assistance—lawmakers and farm groups sent a unified, bipartisan message today to anyone eying farm policy for future budget cuts. 17 Senators, 52 House members, and 40 farm organizations sent separate letters to Congressional…
By: National Cotton Council MEMPHIS (February 26, 2009)— The National Cotton Council said today that the proposed program changes included in President Obama’s FY10 budget for USDA fail to recognize the work recently completed by Congress on the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. The NCC emphasized that after a lengthy and arduous debate,…
WASHINGTON (Feb 27, 2009)—While big businesses ranging from insurance giants to banks, car companies, investment houses, and construction firms are raking in hundreds of billions in taxpayer dollars, the men and women who feed and clothe the country received some unwelcome news yesterday from President Barack Obama. In the President’s proposed budget, farmers with more…
WASHINGTON (Feb 23, 2009)—Open any major newspaper in the country and you’ll find countless stories of economic distress. Companies are shedding jobs, house foreclosures are on the rise, and the Dow plunges to new lows almost every day. But there’s one story that’s hardly been told—a story that has a direct impact on the breakfast…
WASHINGTON (Feb 18, 2009)—Although farm families across the country were put on notice last summer that strict new payment limitation rules were coming down the pike for the 2009 crop year, nobody could have anticipated the drastic changes that materialized nearly a half a year later, leaving farm families scrambling to understand and comply with…
The name “farm bill” can be pretty misleading. Most who do not follow agricultural legislation that closely just assume that all of the funding included in the “farm bill” winds up on the farm. Not even close. Farm programs only represent about 10% of farm bill spending. The bulk of farm bill spending is earmarked…
By: Doug Albin When most people think about challenges farmers face, weather and crop prices likely come to mind. But these days, the uninformed public perception of agriculture worries farmers almost as much as market uncertainty. That’s not just an observation—it’s what 800 Minnesota corn producers told us in a recent survey. Nearly half of…
WASHINGTON (Jan 13, 2009)—The Riverwalk was hopping as farmers from across the country descended on San Antonio for the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 90th annual convention this weekend. The city’s convention center looked like most farm shows. John Deere and Case IH rolled in the big green and red tractors, U.S. automakers showed off the…
By: Reece Langley VP, Government Affairs, USA Rice Federation Imagine a youthful Democrat with rock-star qualities overcoming the odds to capture his party’s nomination and go on to succeed President Bush, whose sky-high popularity had plummeted in an economic downturn. Imagine a Democratic Congress at or near full strength, with 57 Democratic Senators and 258…
WASHINGTON (Dec 10, 2008)—Major farm organizations sent Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer a letter yesterday conveying serious concerns about the significant delay in publishing the regulations implementing numerous commodity and conservation provisions of the recently enacted farm bill. The letter, which was also delivered to Office of Management & Budget Director Jim Nussle and to Congressional…
Committee Letter to President Bush Twenty-two United States Senators from farm states sent President Bush a letter on Dec. 8 expressing their “serious concerns about the direction of global agricultural trade negotiations in Geneva.” The letter, which was signed by 15 members of the Agriculture Committee including Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Ranking Member Saxby…
WASHINGTON (Dec 9, 2008)—The Washington Post ran a front-page piece in April penned by a fellow of the German Marshall Fund—a well-heeled and outspoken farm critic—about a DC-area bagel shop that was forced to raise prices because of wheat costs. Like many news stories from the time period, the article—which is posted on the German…
Press release from the Senate Finance Committee Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), along with House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Ranking Member Jim McCrery (R-La), sent a letter today to President Bush, urging the administration to stand firm in the Doha Round negotiations at the…
WASHINGTON (Dec 1, 2008)—Visit most any university-level journalism class across the country, and you’ll undoubtedly hear a lesson about taking quotes out of context. It is a lesson aspiring reporters are taught early on in the curriculum—be accurate when quoting a source and don’t mischaracterize a source’s quote to fit the story you want to…
WASHINGTON (Nov 20, 2008)—Larry Combest, the former Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, this week penned a policy paper outlining potential pitfalls for farmers if the current World Trade Organization trade talks conclude without serious revisions. “Moving forward with the current direction of the Doha Round would critically injure an important sector of the U.S.…
WASHINGTON (Nov 7, 2008)—If you’re miffed about grocery prices still being high despite price drops in fuel and agricultural commodities, you’re in good company. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) recently penned a letter to the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) demanding one of two things: cheaper food on the shelves or an apology for unfairly blaming…
WASHINGTON (Nov 3, 2008)—Since 1973, farm bills have included a Rural Development Title. The 2008 farm bill builds on that tradition, addressing a wide range of policy issues affecting rural communities. Subjects covered by the title include economic planning and development; essential community facilities (such as emergency first responders and healthcare); water, waste disposal, and…
By: National Cotton Council There are many remaining areas of disagreement in the Doha Round trade negotiations. In the months since the Doha Round July mini-ministerial, virtually all of the discussion has centered on the Special Safeguard Mechanism, cotton, and Sectoral Negotiations in the NAMA (non-agricultural market access) negotiations as being among the last remaining…
WASHINGTON (Oct 23, 2008)—While Wall Street crumbled, poison seeped through a crack in the Great Wall of China’s bureaucracy over to our shores. And we barely paid it any notice. It would be almost impossible to see a better example of the importance of food security if it were staged. But there it is—from Vietnam…
About once a year “20/20” reporter John Stossel produces a piece about the evils of farm policy. None of the material is groundbreaking—he uses the same talking points that have been regurgitated by farm opponents for years. And like most professional farm critics, Stossel’s story is full of holes and keeps changing. In his 2007…
WASHINGTON (Oct 2, 2008)—In terms of farm policy, producers are in limbo right now, caught somewhere in between the new 2008 farm act and the old 2002 law. Farm bill implementing regulations have yet to be written, lawmakers and USDA officials continue to tussle over the intent of the law, and farmers are confused. Few…
WASHINGTON (Sep 24, 2008)—Want to take a cooking class from the founder of the Viking Range Corporation? You don’t have to shell out for a trendy culinary school in Manhattan; you simply need to head to a small town of 20,000 in the Mississippi Delta. Fred Carl, Jr., Viking’s founder, has joined the ranks of…
WASHINGTON (Sep 19, 2008)—During the farm bill debate, critics of farm policy were quick to accuse the men and women who feed and clothe the country of preferential treatment. Farm bill opponents pushed for a restrictive cap—based on a farmer’s adjusted gross income or AGI—to limit who can receive benefits from the farm safety net.…
WASHINGTON (Sep 12, 2008)—The “farm bill” might sound like a piece of legislation that deals strictly with agricultural policy, but it is far from narrowly focused. Every month, Farm Policy Facts will dissect a title of the bill to illustrate its breadth and importance to people all over our country – not just farmers. This…
WASHINGTON (Aug 22, 2008)—Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, and Virginia will be the big battleground states in the upcoming presidential election, according to a recent analysis by CNN. And with the exception of New Hampshire, agriculture is a dominate industry in all of them. No wonder the candidates…
WASHINGTON (July 25, 2008)—Following the announcement of a trade concession a few years ago, a Minnesota farmer gave a local reporter a quote for the ages. “We need to have uniforms made up for our trade negotiators so they know what team they play for,” he said. Now with current WTO trade talks headed in…
Talks in the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have collapsed again because Brazil, China, and India were unwilling to bend. Despite a powerful letter from 17 of the 21 members of the Senate Agriculture Committee and a clear message from the agricultural community, U.S. trade negotiators offered even more concessions in Geneva.…
WASHINGTON (July 14, 2008)—Farmers on both sides of the pond today came out swinging against the direction of international trade negotiations. “With a decisive Ministerial to be held next week, the undersigned organizations, representing America’s farmers and ranchers, wish to express their continued deep concern about the status and direction of the Doha Round of…
MEMPHIS – Criticisms of U.S. cotton farm programs are unwarranted. The truth: U.S. farm programs have operated as designed, supporting farmers’ incomes in times of low prices while allowing them to react to market signals. A report that dispels myths about U.S. farm law support to America’s cotton farmers can be found on the National…
WASHINGTON (June 27, 2008)—If it seems like Congress was voting on the farm bill every time you turned around, it’s probably because they have been. And industry insiders fear that the farm bill will not fade from the forefront anytime soon. The first public farm bill fight centered on the now-infamous Kind-Flake amendment. Despite the…
WASHINGTON (June 23, 2008)—Despite expressing some concerns with the farm bill, the U.S. Department of Agriculture appears to be making implementation of the new law a top priority. In a press release sent out yesterday, the USDA announced 2008 loan rates as well as new marketing assistance loan and loan deficiency payment provisions from the…
The farm bill has endured some rough obstacles in its venture to become law. Thankfully, many congressional members backed the farm bill to the very end. Farm Policy Facts would like to highlight some of their statements in support of the farm bill. “This is good legislation. It is good for the country and certainly…
WASHINGTON (May 23, 2008)—Despite a technical error and widespread confusion, 14 out of the 15 titles of the farm bill became law yesterday after the U.S. Senate voted to override President Bush’s veto. The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to override the veto. A technical glitch led to one of the bill’s sections—the title…
By: Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 15, 2008: I come to the floor to ask my colleagues to work with me to pass one of the most critical economic stimulus packages this body will have a chance to vote on all year. This is a balanced proposal, both ensuring the viability…
By: Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 15, 2008: Why a bill at all? Well, because our major competitors have much more ambitious support for their producers than we have for ours. This is a fact. The Europeans are providing more than three times as much support to their producers than we…
By: Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 14, 2008: We have come to a point where I believe we have a good bill that should be supported by all Members of this Congress from both urban, suburban and rural areas. I have here a chart that shows how the current farm bill…
By: Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 14, 2008: This farm bill contains solid reforms while addressing a variety of issues including forestry, rural development, renewable energy, nutrition, conservation, research, specialty crops, and livestock and still maintains the safety net necessary to ensure a safe, reliable and affordable domestic food supply. This…
By: Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 15, 2008: [F]arming is a critical part of the economy in my home state of Washington. Many people don’t know it, but Washington is the Nation’s 11th-largest farm State. And we are the third-largest producer of fruits and vegetables–which are also known around here as…
By: Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 15, 2008: This farm bill is important for a lot of reasons. I don’t have time to get into all the details of why I think this bill is important, but it does preserve a strong safety net. It does provide a permanent disaster title,…
By: Rep. Leonard Boswell (D – Iowa) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 14, 2008: Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this conference report… As chairman of the Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Subcommittee, working with my ranking member over here, Mr. Hayes, we have got the first-ever livestock title. It offers producers much-needed protections and…
By: Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 15, 2008: [T]oo few Americans realize how important America’s farmers and ranchers are to the economy and the security of this country. Over the last few years, major newspapers and Washington special interest groups have been busy demeaning our Nation’s farmers and ranchers… These attacks…
By: Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 14, 2008: [T]his bill is a victory for farmers, a victory for communities, a victory for rural America. As chairman of the Rural Development Subcommittee, I’m pleased that this conference report contains strong rural development title that supports small business, expands access to broadband, and…
By: Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 15, 2008: In an age of skyrocketing energy prices, economic uncertainty, and now a global food crisis, there is at least one thing we should be able to be certain of: our Nation’s food security. We cannot take for granted our ability to feed ourselves,…
WASHINGTON (May 15, 2008)—More than 1,000 farm, nutrition, and conservation organizations sent a letter to Congress today asking legislators to override President Bush’s veto of the bipartisan farm bill passed last week. Industry insiders noted that this letter was even larger than a similar group letter sent to Congress last week by 557 groups urging…
WASHINGTON (May 15, 2008) — After weeks of veto threats from the White House, lawmakers handed President Bush a stunning defeat this week by passing the farm bill by a veto proof margin. The U.S. House of Representatives was expected to be a major battleground, with farm bill supporters and opponents lobbying hard for every…
By: Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 14, 2008: [T]his bill is a victory for farmers, a victory for communities, a victory for rural America. I realize that fewer and fewer Americans have a direct connection to the land. One reason is because it’s becoming quite tough to make a living in…
WASHINGTON (May 14, 2008) — A coalition of Texas-based businesses and farmers are united with a clear message to Congress: support the farm bill. A letter to Members of Congress from the Southwest Council of Agribusiness, representing non-profit agricultural organizations, agribusinesses and financial institutions, urged support for the farm bill that is expected to reach…
WASHINGTON (May 14, 2008) — In a letter sent to every member of the Louisiana Congressional delegation yesterday, leaders from the state’s agricultural sector asked lawmakers “to work with others in Washington, D.C. to over-ride the [expected Presidential] veto before it occurs by overwhelmingly approving the farm bill now.” “While none of us achieved everything…
WASHINGTON (May 13, 2008)—More than 500 farm, nutrition, and conservation organizations sent a letter to Congress today urging legislators to vote in favor of the farm bill this week. Industry insiders believe this is one of the largest group letters ever sent on an agricultural issue, showing the unity among groups with varying political and…
Dear Representative: On behalf of the USA Rice Federation and its producer, miller, and merchant members and allied businesses, we urge your vote in support of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (H.R. 2419 – Farm Bill) that is scheduled for a vote this week in both the House and Senate. Even though…
By: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 15, 2008: America’s farm safety net was created during the Great Depression as an essential reform to help support rural communities and protect struggling family farmers from the financial shocks of volatile weather and equally volatile commodity prices. Almost 75 years later the reasons for…
WASHINGTON (May 9, 2008)—Just moments after details of the farm bill conference report surfaced, Republican lawmakers started signaling their support for the new bill, even if that means voting to override a possible veto by President Bush. Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss, the top Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, said he is backing the bill…
WASHINGTON (May 7, 2008)—The furor over grocery store sticker shock reached a boiling point last Thursday as the Congressional Joint Economic Committee held a hearing to investigate the impact these food prices are having on everyday Americans. Tom Buis, the president of the National Farmers Union, told the Committee that he and all growers sympathize…
WASHINGTON (Apr. 30, 2008)—With the farm community’s attention focused squarely on finishing the farm bill deliberations, little notice was paid to an important meeting held at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) last week. Bart Chilton, a CFTC Commissioner, said of the meeting to examine the impact of crop prices on farmers, “Commodity prices are…
In the fifth installment of our ongoing series about the unsubstantiated claims from farm policy opponents, Farm Policy Facts will examine a recent claim made by the Bush Administration about the farm bill that’s left a lot of folks on the Hill scratching their heads. Myth: This farm bill does not meet Administration demands and…
In the fourth installment of our ongoing series about the unsubstantiated claims by farm policy opponents, Farm Policy Facts will take a closer look at a recent claim made by the Bush Administration about the pending farm bill. Myth: “At a time of record farm incomes, Congress decided to further increase farm subsidy rates.” -Agriculture…
In the third installment of our ongoing series about the unsubstantiated claims by farm policy opponents, Farm Policy Facts will examine the relationship between farm payments and food production. Myth: U.S. farm policy benefits corporate agribusinesses at the expense of the family farm. The Truth: Corporate Agribusinesses as you would think of it (global firms…
In the second installment of our ongoing series about the unsubstantiated claims by farm policy opponents, Farm Policy Facts will examine the notion that commodity programs break the bank. Myth: Federal farm programs are outrageously expensive and U.S. Taxpayers would benefit from their elimination. The Truth: Commodity programs have always accounted for less than one…
President John Adams once said, “Facts are stubborn things.” Opponents of farm policy obviously didn’t get the memo. During this farm bill, a handful of special interest groups and big city papers have continued to regurgitate numerous myths about farm programs even though the numbers prove these arguments to be blatantly false. Over the next…
By: Senator Norm Coleman After months of negotiations, congressional negotiators are on the cusp of a farm bill agreement that’ll provide the framework necessary to quickly complete reauthorization of the nation’s farm policy. This will be the product of a consistent, bipartisan, cross-regional and bicameral effort in Congress. With the spring planting season nearly upon…
WASHINGTON (Apr. 9, 2008)—“It has become painfully obvious that, even though the 2007 sugarcane crop was a good one in most areas, most growers showed little or no profit,” a well-respected agricultural consultant in southern Louisiana told local ag leaders in a letter last month. According to Dr. Calvin Viator, the letter’s author, input prices…
WASHINGTON (Apr. 1, 2008)—In April 2002—as Congress was struggling to pass a farm bill-CNN ran a story about high oil prices. Oil futures in New York were $27.38 a barrel at the time of this story, which proclaimed, “[T]he impact of rising wholesale prices since September has already spilled over at the pumps…there appears to…
By: Congressman Charlie Melancon My colleague, Congressman Charles Boustany (R), and I recently hosted “Farm Day 2008” in Louisiana, where we heard from members of the state’s agricultural community. The one issue that came up over and over again during the program was getting past partisan bickering in DC and getting a farm bill passed…
Below is a letter from a concerned citizen and farmer who shared his comments on the debate on the pending farm bill. Dear Farm Policy Facts, As an active participant in the farm policy debate it would be appropriate to say a few words to the folks on Capitol Hill before they make their final…
Easter candy is big business. Americans are projected to spend $1.9 billion to fill Easter baskets with sweet treats this year, says the National Retail Federation. A survey conducted by the group estimates that shoppers will fork over, on average, $18.12 for Easter candy—up from $14.40 just five years earlier. In other words, shoppers seem…
WASHINGTON (Mar. 21, 2008)—Though U.S. shoppers still pay far less for their food than shoppers in any other country, opponents of farm policy who once complained about low commodity prices are now taking aim at family farmers for higher prices at checkout lines. They claim that some farmers’ recent good fortunes are to blame for…
WASHINGTON (Mar. 17, 2008)—Any farmer can tell you that thriving in rural America is more than just having the right equipment and an available workforce. One of the most important tools available to America’s farmers and ranchers—among the smartest and savviest businessmen and women anywhere in the world—is education and access to information. But for…
WASHINGTON (Mar. 13, 2008)—Growing frustrated and worried about the endless stalemate over the farm bill, U.S. farmers and ranchers are calling on Congress to put differences aside in the interest of quickly passing a bill with a safety net that reflects the best of both the House and Senate passed bills. “It has been eight…
WASHINGTON (Mar. 11, 2008)—Members of the Texas Congressional delegation could start receiving a lot of farm bill letters from people in the Houston area who depend on local hunger relief groups. That’s because the Houston Food Bank has issued a “Call to Action” to get the pending farm bill passed soon. A template Congressional letter…
WASHINGTON (Feb. 14, 2008)—Forty-two farm groups today sent a letter to leaders from the House and Senate Agriculture Committees expressing concern that a farm bill proposal unveiled earlier this week is “seriously under-funded.” House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Ranking Member Robert Goodlatte (R-Va.) introduced the new farm bill package, which was drafted…
WASHINGTON (Feb. 11, 2008)—More than 20 farm organization told lawmakers today that they oppose including provisions in a final version of farm bill that “fall outside” of the provisions contained in the versions approved by the House and Senate. “We fully believe the new farm bill must not be shortchanged,” the farm groups, including the…
WASHINGTON (Feb. 7, 2008)—Although it has been nearly two months since the U.S. Senate approved a farm bill by an overwhelming, bipartisan vote, and over a half-a-year since the House approved its version, efforts to protect tax shelters and loopholes that raise taxes on everyone else continues to threaten successful completion of a farm bill.…
ORLANDO, FL. (Feb. 5, 2008)—As bleak as the budget situation looks for the farm bill right now, “it doesn’t get any better beyond 2008,” a policy analyst with Informa Economics told sugarbeet farmers at their annual convention today. A number of issues—from a shrinking budget baseline to a growing budget deficit, a slumping economy, increased…
Wheat farmers fed up with hunger are showing that community comes first with a Pendleton, Oregon-based program called Bushels for Betsy. Tom Winn, a former administrator of the Oregon Wheat Commission, started Bushels for Betsy, which he named after his daughter. Through the program – a cooperative partnership of the Oregon Wheat Foundation, Pendleton Flour…
Washington (Jan. 29, 2008)—Farmers and ranchers from across the country are urging Congress and the President to quickly pass a strong new farm bill as part of their economic stimulus agenda. “When our manufacturing sector went into a tailspin earlier this decade, the Wall Street Journal reported that a strong agriculture sector was helping hold…
NEW ORLEANS (Jan. 17, 2008)—The message coming out of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual conference held here this week was crystal clear: farmers have already sacrificed a lot in the farm bill and should not be the source of additional funding cuts. The farm bills passed by the House and Senate “represent significant reform,”…
Washington (Jan. 16, 2008)—Most priorities championed during the writing of the new farm bill received funding increases. There was more money for conservation, for nutrition programs and for renewable energy priorities. There was additional funding for research, the marketing of fruits and vegetables and even pest and disease eradication. The vote has been hailed by…
Soaring commodity prices…farm incomes on the rise…increasing land values…banks happy to cash-flow farming operations. Most people involved in writing the new farm bill might read those phrases and think it’s a description of current situation in rural America. It’s not; it’s a description of the years leading up to the farm crisis of the 1980s.…
By: John Thaemert, President, National Association of Wheat Growers It’s been a rough and tumble week for markets around the world and, in Washington, President Bush and Congressional leaders have finally found something they can agree on-the need for an economic stimulus package. Those of us in the farm community have been working on a…
U.S. farm programs were recently being attacked by big-city editorial boards and farm policy critics for keeping commodity prices too low and, thus, harming developing countries. Now, with many agricultural commodity prices on an upswing, these same groups are complaining that prices are too high and, thus, harming developing countries. Oxfam—the group that dropped $225,000…
Washington (Dec. 19, 2007)—Organizations representing most farmers in America sent a letter today to key legislators asking them to “complete a conference report to the Farm Bill by no later than late January or early February.” “Based upon the exceptional work of both the House and the Senate, we are confident that a strong new…
In early January, thousands of farmers and ranchers from Hawaii, California, North Dakota, the Carolinas, and everywhere in between boarded planes, trains and buses to make the trip to the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting in New Orleans. The state’s agricultural community gladly welcomed our colleagues, who produce just about everything everyday citizens put…
Washington (Dec. 14, 2007)—Farmers and ranchers today applauded as the Senate passed the 2007 farm bill by a bipartisan vote of 79 to 14. The final package did not include the harmful amendments designed to gut the farm safety net, cripple farmers’ crop insurance, and slash farm benefits. “Wheat growers have been waiting for this…
Washington (Dec. 12, 2007)—Groups representing farmers from coast to coast sent a letter to every Senator this morning asking them to “protect what it has taken 25 years to build” and to vote against the crop insurance amendment proposed by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), John Sununu (R- N.H.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). “The Senate Agriculture…
WASHINGTON (Dec. 12, 2007)—Farmers and ranchers applauded as the Senate soundly defeated a farm bill amendment by Senators Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) to gut the farm safety net. The amendment, which fell on a 58 to 37 vote, was almost identical to a similar amendment offered by Reps. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) and…
WASHINGTON (Dec. 11, 2007)—Former House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest urged Senators to finish their work on the farm bill before adjourning for the year and not let amendments bog down the process in a speech delivered today to the Farm Journal Forum. “For all of the Senators who say that they care about the…
Excerpt from a Dec. 11 Statement on the Senate Floor The critics say only 43 percent of all farms received payments. The critics say that 57 percent of farms unfairly operate without a safety net. The critics say the largest 8 percent of all farms receive 58 percent of the farm program benefits. <[Such statements]…
We were wrong: Not all big-city newspapers oppose the farm bill. In a stunning about-face, the editorial board at The Boston Globe urged lawmakers this week to quickly pass the stalled farm bill because of its vital nutrition programs. “Congress should pass the Farm Bill,” the newspaper wrote. “The House has passed a version, but…
Excerpt from Dec. 3 Speech by Larry Combest to USA Rice Federation Now, I suppose it is possible, and perhaps it is even probable, that short term extensions of current law may continue to take place until the full five year Farm Bill is completed. This would certainly provide farm families with at least some…
Washington (Nov. 28, 2007)—Nineteen agricultural groups wrote to the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate today to ask that they complete work on the pending farm bill rather than extending current farm policy. “Extending current law could also result in a substantial reduction in the funding available for writing the next farm bill,” the…
Washington (Nov. 28, 2007)—Groups representing most Louisiana farmers today wrote members of the state’s Congressional delegation to urge them to expedite passage of the 2007 farm bill and oppose efforts to extend the current bill. “Louisiana’s farm community is deeply concerned about the delay in approving the 5-year reauthorization of U.S. farm policy,” the groups…
Washington (Nov. 20, 2007)—Twenty-six organizations representing farmers and ranchers from coast to coast are calling upon the U.S. Senate to oppose an effort to gut the safety net provided to America’s farmers in the 2007 farm bill. The November 16 letter urged Senators to oppose the Farm, Ranch, Equity, Stewardship and Health (FRESH) Act (S.…
WASHINGTON (Nov. 16, 2007)—As word spreads in rural America about a pending farm bill amendment to slash federal farm benefits, opposition to the plan sponsored by Senators Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) continues to grow. “The Grassley-Dorgan amendment would not just hurt Virginia farmers but the communities we live and work in,” said…
WASHINGTON (Nov. 16, 2007)—Oppose the Grassley-Dorgan Amendment Senate Agriculture Committee Bill Reforms… Saves Nearly $500 Million. Pay limits in the Senate Agriculture Committee farm bill save nearly half a billion dollars, according to the Congressional Budget Office. And those savings would increase if crop prices fall. Provides 100% Benefit Transparency. The Senate Agriculture Committee bill…
Washington (Nov. 13, 2007)—In a letter sent today to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, key farming groups expressed their disappointment in “the lack of progress made” last week on the 2007 farm bill. The National Farmers Union, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Association of State Departments of…
Washington (Nov. 8, 2007)—As the U.S. Senate begins consideration of the 2007 farm bill, it is understandable that Senators and America’s farmers and ranchers may feel a little dejavu. That’s because the Senate will debate a rehash of the unpopular Kind-Flake amendment that was resoundingly defeated 117-309 on the House floor in July. The Senate…
Excerpt from a Nov. 8 Statement on the Senate Floor I wish to take just a minute to address an issue that appeared in The Washington Post earlier this week. [A]s with most people who write these editorials and publish them around the country, frankly, this editorial is filled with total inaccuracies. I want to…
By: Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) [D]espite the fact that our Nation enjoys but does not apparently appreciate the fact that production agriculture does provide this country and a very troubled and hungry world the very best quality food at the lowest price in the history of the world, we have heard a lot of repeated…
WASHINGTON (Nov. 6, 2007)—Last week, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) announced that he intended to offer an amendment to the farm bill that would price farmers and ranchers out of insurance while forcing many providers out of business. The Brown bill is based on the failed amendment offered during House floor consideration by Congressman Jim Cooper…
WASHINGTON (Nov. 6, 2007)—The farm bill unanimously passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee struck a delicate balance between numerous budget and political priorities and should not be weakened with amendments. That was the message to Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) in a letter sent yesterday from 23 farm organizations. “With a very…
Washington (Nov. 5, 2007)—Major agricultural groups from across the country today wrote leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee to urge them to “reject any amendments which are designed to further reduce benefits or place additional restrictions on program eligibility” when the farm bill reaches the Senate floor. “The provisions of the 2007 farm legislation, as…
Any businessperson worth their salt has, at minimum, a 5-year business plan that projects revenue, expenses, and projected profit. In fact, most banks demand such detailed plans before issuing business operating loans. Tommy Hoskyn, a rice and soybean farmer from Stuttgart, Ark., is no stranger to business planning. But proper planning has become almost impossible…
“When you feed the world, you are as important as any ambassador or government diplomat,” explained 50-year-old Gene (Pucky) Sandager, a corn, soybean, and cattle producer from Hills, Minnesota. But Gene does a lot more than just feed the world; he is teaching the world how to feed itself. Gene’s family has been very involved…
Roberts Amendment Allows Farmers to Elect Revenue Option Without Sacrificing Safety Net WASHINGTON (Oct. 31, 2007)—Farm families across the country breathed a collective sigh of relief last week after the Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously accepted an amendment offered by Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) that would allow farmers to elect to participate in a countercyclical revenue…
Being a fresh college graduate is one of the scariest and thrilling times of one’s lifetime. All of a sudden it is up to you to make your own decisions. But what if your decision entailed entering a risky industry? Patrick Johnson faced this challenging decision when he graduated from the University of Mississippi where…
WASHINGTON (Oct. 19, 2007)—A letter from 15 organizations sent to Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Chambliss “to urge prompt action on 2007 farm legislation” underscores the need to complete the farm bill in 2007. These organizations—representing a wide array of commodities and farmers and ranchers from across the U.S. wrote—urged prompt action…
If they spent some time in rural America, witnessing the hard work and risk that farmers and ranchers endure every day, I think we would see fewer editorial pages pontificating about farmers getting rich on taxpayer subsidies. Every year, farmers and ranchers invest thousands of dollars into their crop, buying equipment, fuel, seed, fertilizer, water,…
“Little House on the Prairie” Opposes Grassley-Dorgan Pay Limits Amendment Tom and DeVonna Zeug have a lot in common with the famous Charles Ingalls family who, in the late 19th century, settled on a farm just seven miles away from what is today the Zeug family’s fifth generation farm. “Believe it or not, John Zeug,…
David Kragnes sits on the Board of Directors for a major American company. But David is different from your average corporate board member. He doesn’t wear a three-piece suit to work every day or drive a luxury sedan. He drives a Deere and feels more comfortable in jeans. David is a fourth-generation sugarbeet farmer from…
He is a cotton farmer, soybean farmer, wheat farmer and corn farmer, and when he’s not farming he is extremely active in his community. He is on the Board of Directors for the Private Christian Academy, President for the County Planning Commission, Deputy Commissioner for the Soil & Water Conservation District, President and Board Member…
When John Thaemert isn’t sporting a suit and sitting behind his desk at the Citizens State Bank & Trust Co. in Ellsworth, Kan., he’s wearing jeans and working on his wheat farm a few miles down the road near Sylvan Grove. John started working with investments and financial services in 1986. “I feel extremely fortunate…
WASHINGTON (Sept. 28, 2007)—With just two days remaining before the current farm bill expires, organizations of all political stripes today sent a letter to Senate leaders “to support expedited action on the 2007 Farm Bill.” “While our organizations have differences on specific policy recommendations, we believe it is vitally important that the Senate Agriculture Committee…
This much we know for certain: A new farm bill will not be signed into law by the time the clock runs out on the current farm bill in 11 days. And what happens next has caused tremendous confusion. Technically, the farm bills of 1938 and 1949 would kick in because these are the most…
By: Congressman Marion Berry Most Americans start their days the same way. Get out of bed, shower, put on clothes (most likely cotton), and head to the kitchen for a quick bite to eat before work or school. You might pour a tall glass of milk and sprinkle a little sugar in your bowl of…
WASHINGTON (Sept. 11, 2007)—More than 20 organizations representing farmers and ranchers from across the U.S. called for “swift action in the Senate” on the 2007 farm bill in a letter [view letter] sent yesterday to key members of the U.S. Senate. The letter underscores agriculture’s continued unity in passing a strong farm bill and highlighted…
By: U.S. Senator Max Baucus Standing Up For American Agriculture Over the last few years, major newspapers and special interest groups have been busy demeaning our nation’s farmers and ranchers. The articles come with some pejorative titles, such as “Farmers at the Trough,” “Hungry Kids, Greedy Farmers,” “Farm Subsidies: Necessary Evil?” and “Agriwelfare: The expiring…
Sept. 24 marks the two-year anniversary of the “big flood” in Abbeville, Louisiana. That’s when Hurricane Rita brought an unprecedented squall that would change the small rice-farming town forever. Overnight, farmers in Abbeville lost homes, farm equipment and more than half of the town’s rice acres. Ross Hebert, a grower of nine years, said the…
By: U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln “Our farmers deserve praise, not condemnation; and their efficiency should be cause for gratitude, not something for which they are penalized.” Those were the words of President John F. Kennedy, and they still ring true today. Unfortunately, all too often you can open up a newspaper to find at least…
WASHINGTON (August 29, 2007)—SpongeBob Square Pants, Curious George and Thomas the Tank Engine last week became the latest lead-based casualties in the Chinese toy saga, putting parents on high alert about the quality of imports. These high-profile product recalls landed on the front page of most major newspapers and remain in the news. But today…
WASHINGTON (August 17, 2007)—Much to the delight of farmers and ranchers in rural America, members of the Senate Agriculture Committee have repeatedly praised the agricultural provisions of the House farm bill during Congress’ August recess. “It’s pretty hard to argue against the House-passed farm bill,” Republican Sen. Norm Coleman (Minn.) said via conference call last…
CALIFORNIA (August 8, 2007)—At the American Sugar Alliance’s 24th International Sweetener Symposium, farmers from across the country came together to pledge a common goal of supporting a strong 2007 farm bill. The bill passed the House of Representatives on July 27. With the Senate slated to take up the legislation in September, key agriculture groups…
Nowadays, everybody seems to be hopping on the ethanol bandwagon. It’s a centerpiece for aspiring presidents’ energy stump speeches. Wall Street is looking to Main Street for investment opportunities. And even one-time opponents of the clean burning fuel admit it will be vital to weaning America off its foreign oil dependence. But for farmers like…
If you’ve eaten rice one night this week for dinner, there’s a 50-50 chance it came from Arkansas, and there’s a high likelihood it passed through a small town you’ve probably never heard of…unless you’re an avid hunter. Stuttgart, Arkansas, is commonly called “the duck and rice capital of the world” because the town produces…
WASHINGTON (July 31, 2007)—In a victorious moment for America’s farmers, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected the Kind-Flake amendment last Thursday night by an astonishing vote of 309 to 117. Thanks to the support and persistence of the House Agriculture Committee and Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), as well as various coalitions and associations representing America’s…
WASHINGTON (July 27, 2007)—After an intense buildup to what most Washington insiders thought would be a bloody battle, the much-anticipated Kind-Flake farm bill hit the House floor with a thud late last night. The plan offered by Reps. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) was swiftly and soundly defeated by a vote of 309…
WASHINGTON (July 25, 2007)—In a Dear Colleague letter to Members of Congress today, Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) joined the growing voices of legislators supporting a strong farm bill and called upon her colleagues to “Please oppose any attempts to weaken this important measure…and support H.R. 2419.” In her letter, Velázquez—who serves as Chairwoman of…
WASHINGTON (July 24, 2007)—Farmers from across the United States are descending upon Capitol Hill in anticipation this week’s floor vote on H.R. 2419 in the U.S. House of Representatives. Those farmers are actively working to have their voices heard. In a letter sent to all members of Congress today, major national, regional, and state agriculture…
WASHINGTON (July 23, 2007)—The farm bill plan introduced by two extremist members of the House of Representatives, Ron Kind (D-Wis.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), would devastate rural economies and farms across the country, according to a study released today by the Agriculture and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M. All crop farms and nearly all…
By now, the opponents of farm policy sound like broken records. The Senate Agriculture Committee had not even completed its markup of the farm bill, and these naysayers were already attacking the bill and Committee members for not making reforms. It seems like no matter how many concessions the agricultural community makes, they will never…
All too often we hear from self-anointed advocates who claim that U.S. farm policies contribute to poverty around the world. Yet they consistently ignore the real experts on global issues calling for the very same policies those naysayers are predisposed to reject. Moreover, rarely, if ever, does the media focus attention on the international organizations…
The last vote had barely been cast on the House farm bill when the spin machines for groups from the far right and far left started whining in overdrive. Oxfam America—a group that invested considerable resources promoting the Kind-Flake farm bill that was swiftly and soundly defeated by a bipartisan vote—issued a press release entitled…
WASHINGTON (July 18, 2007)—U.S. agriculture is under siege and the farm policies on which so many depend are close to being gutted. Rural America must stand up and be heard. That is the startling message being delivered to growers across the country by their leaders in Washington. “An amendment or series of amendments to eliminate…
By Farmer X WASHINGTON (July 17, 2007)—According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), my operation received about $110,000 in farm program payments in the 2005 program year—a lot of money by many standards. The insinuation of this is that we are rich farmers, rolling in the dough provided by hardworking American taxpayers. Nothing could be…
By: Jeff Nunley Recently, one of my neighbors in town was complaining about our U.S. farm program. He made the statement that he wished the government would subsidize his income, like it did for farmers. My response was that our farm program did subsidize his income. How? By keeping food costs low. This frees up…
WASHINGTON (July 11, 2007)—The German Marshall Fund put out a press release on May 3 that proudly proclaimed, “Dan Morgan, former staff writer for the Washington Post, has joined the organization as a Transatlantic Fellow.”1 Morgan was quickly listed on the German Marshall Fund’s website as an ag policy expert2; he started writing a column…
The Vietnam veteran from Erath, Louisiana, and his father were slowly increasing the size of the 100-acre farm that Charles’ grandfather started. Jerome, Charles’ young son quickly fell in love with farm life. The Guidry team was good about keeping costs low, and the prices they received for their crop seemed fair. Their world was…
Many Americans wrongly think that farmers are uneducated and not tech-savvy. When it comes to Barry Evans, a cotton farmer from Kress, Texas, nothing could be further from the truth. Barry is an early adopter of the latest farming technology, such as remote sensing, and he reads any article or study he can get his…
For more than 200 years, sugar production has been a way of life in southern Louisiana. Locals say pure sugarcane pumps through the heart of the region, and tales of great-grandfathers working in dew-glistened cane fields have filled coffee shops for generations. For proof that sugar is interwoven into the very fabric of the state,…
Theresia Gillie is sick of the stereotypes of women on the farm. She doesn’t wear an apron all day, or can her own jams, or spend hours on end jotting down recipes. Theresia runs a 2,600-acre wheat, soybean, and sunflower farm with her husband, Keith, and her son, Bryce. She’s responsible for the farm’s budgeting,…
WASHINGTON (June 19, 2007)—An investigation by FarmPolicyFacts.org into the new Environmental Working Group (EWG) farm subsidy database has uncovered a dirty little secret that radical environmental groups likely hoped would never surface. Former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen, mega-lobbyist Gerald Cassidy, and many other wealthy subsidy recipients in EWG’s database are only there because they…
By: USA Rice Federation Every day we see a steady stream of propaganda about U.S. farm subsidies being responsible for the myriad ills associated with world poverty. With the farm bill on the Senate floor, we’ve seen editorials in newspapers and magazines—even church newsletters—addressed to members of Congress, declaring that farmers be stripped of the…
ST. LOUIS, MO – While Brazilian officials were in Geneva arguing that U.S. subsidies were depressing world cotton prices, the Brazilian government was busy selling government-held cotton stocks on the Brazilian market in order to lower internal Brazilian cotton prices according to USDA reports. “The actions of Brazil’s own government in April and May of…
WASHINGTON (June 7, 2007)—Every member of the U.S. Senate today received a handbook highlighting the billions of dollars in subsidies foreign agricultural producers receive around the world. The research, compiled in the Guide to Foreign Crop Subsidies and Tariffs, shows that compared to other major global producers—developing and developed alike—the U.S. ranks near the bottom…
By: Bryan Hest, Steve Williams, Jerry Demmer Farming does a lot more than just put food in our bellies and clothes on our backs. It literally is an economic engine that drives America. Most people are shocked when they learn that the food and fiber industry employs 20% of the country’s workforce and contributes $3.5…
By: Norm Knochel I recently saw a clever bumper sticker in farm country that read, “If you like foreign oil, you’ll love foreign food.” It’s brilliant because it makes you think about something most people take for granted—feeding ourselves. Unlike Americans, Europeans don’t take dinner for granted because they knew starvation and food shortages after…
A recent New York Times article, “Catfish With a Side of Scombroid,” informed readers that: “…the salmonella frequently detected in Asia-farmed fish came from fecal bacteria in the grow-out ponds. The fish, in other words, were bathing in human and animal feces.” Given the influx of negative newspaper headlines like this, it’s no surprise that…
