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Donnelly pleased to see five-year farm bill

Indiana Senator and Ag Committee member Joe Donnelly says he’s pleased that the committee has approved a common sense, five-year farm bill giving the Hoosier ag and rural communities the certainty they deserve. 

“While no bill is perfect, there are a few areas of this bill I worked to improve based on feedback from Hoosiers,” he says.  “I worked to maintain full planting flexibility for Hoosier farmers wanting to grow fruits and vegetables on their farms; introduced an amendment to give the next generation of bioenergy crops access to base levels of risk management so that a logical safety net will be in place for producers; and supported an amendment to give USDA more authority in determining conservation program technical assistance funding levels with input from the field and the stakeholder community.”

The amendment, introduced by Donnelly with Senator Pat Roberts, addresses the increasing use of crops for biofuels.  The bipartisan amendment would amend the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program to offer coverage for crops producing feedstock for energy purposes.  The amendment would direct USDA to research and develop risk management tools promising new sorghum crops. 

Donnelly is urging prompt passage of this bill by the full Senate and for the House to follow suit.  He says, “Indiana farmers deserve more than the partisan gridlock that prevented a five-year farm bill from passing last year.”

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