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…