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…