Institute Of Medicine Debunks Myth Linking Farm Policies to Obesity

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…

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Agricultural Community Offers Advice on TPP Trade Deal

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,…

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Foreign Competitors Seek Advantage Over U.S. Growers

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…

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Lawmakers, Farm groups to White House: Leave Ag Budgets Alone

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),…

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Too Small to Succeed

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…

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Lincoln, Chambliss Commend Kirk Position at WTO Ministerial Meeting

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…

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Administration, Senators Question Direction of Doha Talks

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…

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Key Senators Urge USDA to Protect Crop Insurance Program

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…

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Farmers Wait and Wait and Wait Some More for Farm Law Direction

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),…

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