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…