The United States was not the only nation re-examining its farm laws right recently; although, the United States appears to be the only country making reforms and reducing overall farm policy spending. In fact, major crop producers from Brazil to India and China have been in the news recently expanding levels of subsidization. Such…
DetailsJust days after the 2014 Farm Bill was signed into law, crop insurers gathered for their annual meeting to assess where the industry had come and where it is going. One of the key architects of the Farm Bill, Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, told the crowd that they began writing the Farm Bill three…
DetailsEverybody knows at least one person like that. The person who on a picture perfect summer day, with good health and beautiful scenery to match, with not a want in the world, will still find something to complain about. You know, a walking, talking, real-life version of Waylon Jennings’ Rainy Day Woman. …
DetailsAfter four years of work and tireless efforts by the Agriculture Committees of both chambers, a new Farm Bill finally passed the House this week and is scheduled to be voted on by the Senate next week. If past is prologue, this immense package of policy—affecting not just the farms that nourish our nation but…
DetailsWASHINGTON—The agriculture community applauded the filing of the Farm Bill conference report on Monday, and is urging quick passage of the legislation to provide stability and support for our nation’s farmers and ranchers. Here are excerpts from statements released by key groups: The American Farm Bureau Federation: “We appreciate the hard work…
DetailsChina is more than just the 800-pound gorilla in the world cotton market. The Asian giant is both the world’s biggest producer and importer. As such, China has tremendous market manipulating power that leaves other producers, including those in America, at its mercy. China provides unstinting support to its cotton farmers with the end result…
DetailsAs the worst drought in three decades unfolded last year, opponents of farm programs almost gleefully predicted that taxpayers would be on the hook for $40 billion in crop insurance claims this past fiscal year. Those “experts” grossly overestimated crop insurance costs by about $26 billion. And while crop insurance indemnities in fiscal year 2013…
DetailsIf you’re in need of some lining for your puppy crate, reach no further than this week’s Associated Press article about the so-called secret environmental cost of ethanol. The real secret here? How something as one-sided as this got published in the first place. Even USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has stated that the AP project…
DetailsThe following editorial appeared recently in the Grand Forks Herald: OUR OPINION: Don’t take Farm Bill’s success for granted “People can debate how much help the poor should get and whether it’s optimal to deliver aid in the form of food stamps,” the Washington Post editorialized in June. “But it’s beyond debate — or should be —…
DetailsWe didn’t think it could get more egregious than the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and its hired guns overestimating 2012 drought related expenses by an unbelievable $26 billion then proceeding to compare the men and women who feed America to cheap drunks at an open bar. We were wrong. EWG’s report “Billionaires cash in on…
Detailsby Tonya Allen It’s a novel concept—folks sitting down together to sort out their differences. So novel in fact, at least in the halls of Congress, that not a single Conference Committee Meeting has been held all year … until last week. The fact that the first Conference Committee Meeting of the 113th Congress…
DetailsAn unprecedented flood of sugar imports from Mexico has sent refined sugar prices spiraling down 57 percent in the past 24 months. As a result, prices are currently limping along at about 25 cents per pound – back to the lows of the 1980s. Low prices are nothing new for sugar producers. Sugar prices have been…
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