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…