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Tammy Baldwin’s first farm bill on this end of the Capitol

May 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment

My Approved PortraitsWhile this is not her first farm bill, this is the first time Tammy Baldwin has dealt with one in the Senate. After serving seven terms in the House, the Wisconsin Democrat was elected to the Senate last November and she says there are some differences. She was still in the House last year when the farm bill was never brought to the floor due to differences in food assistance spending. “It is a very different process on the Senate side,” and while there are differences, “We have a lot more consensus on this side of the capitol than they seem to have on the House side.”

I talked with the Senator just after a vote on an amendment to reduce the crop insurance premium subsidy for larger farmers.  There are still amendments to be offered and debates to be held but Baldwin thinks the most controversial amendments are behind them and the Senate will pass the farm bill. As it stands now she would “definitely” vote for the bill.

AUDIO:Baldwin talks about the process 8:15 mp3

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Unmanned aircraft could play a big role on your farm

May 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment

A number of states have introduced legislation and three have passed bills prohibiting the use of unmanned aircraft in their states. But there are proponents who say unmanned aircraft could be used for all sorts of good including agriculture. Gretchen West is executive director of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, she says they would like to see the technology move into the commercial market and believes agriculture will be a big user.

AUDIO: West talks about the possibilities 3:59 mp3

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Senate defeats sugar policy reform

May 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment

On a 55 to 45 vote, the Senate defeated an attempt to change the sugar policy in the next farm bill. An amendment cosponsored by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Kirk (R-Ill) and Patrick Toomey (R-PA)

Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, Mark Kirk, R-Ill., Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., would have made changes to a program opponents charge restricts imports causing artificially high sugar prices at taxpayer expense. Francis Smith with the Competitive Enterprise Institute says; “Americans are hit with higher prices for a wide variety of foodstuffs, while also paying the costs of a massive regulatory bureaucracy.”

In a statement after the vote, the American Sugar Alliance thanked the Senators who voted against the amendment saying, “It would have led to chronic oversupplies of sugar on the U.S. market, jeopardizing jobs and economic activity in rural America. It would have given heavily subsidized foreign sugar producers an unfair competitive advantage over Americans and left us more dependent on foreign suppliers for a food staple.”

The House Ag Committee farm bill includes the current sugar policy.

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Five-year Farm Bill is a necessity

May 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The full Senate began debate on the Farm Bill earlier this week.  Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly says it is moving along well.  “It has momentum,” he says.  “We had a strong vote coming out of the committee itself so I’m looking for a five-year farm bill.”

Yesterday the Senate voted on the amount of cuts to the nutrition programs.  “There were some amendments to take cuts out of crop insurance instead,” he says. “You know what on the nutrition cuts – we’re working really hard make sure those cuts are ones that are sensible, that won’t eliminate any nutrition for our children and others.  But at the same time, we have to make sure we have crop insurance.”

Donnelly tells Brownfield he’s thinks this Farm Bill will be good for Indiana’s farmers.  “We were able to work through what we call Farm Flex, which provides planting flexibility for all of our farmers,” he says.  “I kind of held the line on that and said, ‘look we have to make sure this program continues’ so we were able to keep that in place.”

He thinks a vote on the Farm Bill is not too far away.  “I’d like to tell you today – but you never know,” he says.  “We’re ready to go.  We’re ready to move forward and I’m hoping to have a vote here really soon.”

AUDIO: Senator Joe Donnelly, Farm Bill (3:50mp3)

Filed Under: Events/Organizations, Human Interest, News, Top Stories, USDA/Government Tagged With: , , , , ,

Dueling amendments to expand and to reverse SNAP cuts fail

May 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Opposing efforts to reverse and to expand food assistance cuts both failed on the Senate floor Tuesday. While Senator Kristin Gillibrand from New York pleaded to restore $4 billion worth of cuts to the food stamp program, Kansas Senator Pat Roberts urged deeper cuts to those benefits.

“My goal is simple,” Roberts said on the Senate floor Tuesday, “restore integrity to the supplemental nutrition assistance program in a common sense and comprehensive manner. Enacting this package of reforms will allow the federal government to continue to help those who truly need SNAP food benefits and assistance”

Over the course of a decade Roberts’ amendment would have cut about $30 billion from the food stamp program.

Meanwhile, Senator Gillibrand’s amendment would have reversed the $4 billion in cuts to SNAP benefits agreed to in the Senate Agriculture Committee last week. She maintains that the program experiences only about 1 percent in waste. On the other hand she says food stamps contribute to the economy.

“This money goes straight to the grocery stores, to the store clerks, to the truckers who haul the food from producers all across the country,” said Gillibrand. “Sixteen cents of every SNAP dollar actually goes right back to the farmer who grew the crop, according to the USDA.”

Gillibrand’s proposed fund restoration would have been offset by cuts in crop insurance reimbursements. Both amendments failed on the Senate floor.

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Senators seek sugar reform, growers caution rations

May 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Illinois Senator Mark Kirk (R) and two Senate colleagues Jeanne Shaheen (D) of New Hampshire and Pat Toomey (R) of Pennsylvania are introducing a Sugar Reform amendment they say contains common sense reforms for the U.S. sugar program.

They want to amend the Senate Farm Bill to roll back what they call “unnecessary provisions that unfairly benefit wealthy sugar farmers at the expense of consumers.”

The measure was introduced earlier this year as a stand-alone bill that they say has bipartisan support.

Kirk says the sugar program is outdated and broken and manufacturing jobs are being lost all over the country. He says Illinois risks losing its status as the “Candy Capitol of the World” because current policy “artificially inflates the price of sugar.” Illinois candy/confectionary companies employ more than three-thousand people.

Meanwhile, the American Sugar Alliance sent a personalized replica of a 1942 sugar ration coupon to every Congressional office on Tuesday “to remind lawmakers about the consequences of again becoming dependent on foreign sugar supplies.”

ASA Chairman Ryan Weston explained that sugar was the first commodity rationed in the U.S. in 1942 and the last removed from the rationing list in 1947. “This foreign dependence is why we have a sugar policy today; America needs a reliable and stable homegrown supply.”

ASA contends that reliable supply could be jeopardized if U.S. sugar policy is weakened.

Filed Under: Crops, News, USDA/Government Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Move to repeal so-called ‘Monsanto Protection Act’

May 21, 2013 By 1 Comment

An Oregon lawmaker says he will introduce an amendment to the Senate Farm Bill to repeal the so-called ‘Monsanto Protection Act’ which was included in the continuing budget resolution in March which Congress passed to avoid a government shut-down.

Senate Democrat Jeff Merkley of Oregon calls the provision “an outrageous example of a special interest loophole”, which he says nullifies “the actions of a court which is enforcing the law to protect farmers, the environment and public health.”

Missouri Senator Roy Blunt got the provision included in March saying it will protect farm families, allowing them to proceed with planting of GMO crops approved by the USDA, but halted by the courts for further study on their environmental and other impacts.

Merkley says that rider wrongly allows the USDA to “override a judicial ruling to stop the planting of a GMO.” He says the  provision was “quietly and anonymously” included in the continuing resolution “to avoid public scrutiny.”

Filed Under: Crops, News, USDA/Government Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The importance of passing WRDA

May 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment

As chairman of the Water Resources and Environment subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee, Ohio Congressman Bob Gibbs understands how important WRDA is for agriculture and why it’s important to get something done.

Audio: Ohio Congressman Bob Gibbs (3:00 mp3)

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Conservation program funding reduced in the farm bills

May 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Pheasants Forever photo

Pheasants Forever photo

As the farm bills work their way through Congress, there are a number of changes from the last bill including funding for conservation programs. Dave Nomsen is Vice President of Government Affairs with Pheasants Forever; he says “We are going to see a significant drop in expenditures for conservation programs.” He says we are seeing a “significant reduction in CRP land” due to high land and commodity prices and that is just a bigger challenge with less money available.

He is happy that the farm bills continue the CRP, wetlands and habit preservation programs as well as working-lands programs like EQIP. “Farm bill conservation programs are right there with expenditures on commodity programs right now.” He also encourages landowners to take a good look at the CRP program with both a general signup and continuous signup underway.

Meanwhile, organizations such as his need to step-up and help landowners manage sustainable landscapes for agriculture and wildlife. “Overall there’s going to be some substantial reductions in conservation programs period. There’s no way around that given where we are at with deficit, debt reduction, spending levels those types of things. So we are trying to find ways to do more with a little less.”

AUDIO:Nomsen talks about the farm bills (5:55 mp3

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Lucas clarifies his vision of farm bill

May 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment

2013_Frank_LucasThe day that the U.S. House Agriculture Committee completed and passed their markup of the farm bill, Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) told farm broadcasters on Capitol Hill he was anticipating a long day, but not as long as the committee’s consideration a year ago. It turns out he was right, but the body still worked their way through about 100 amendments before passage late Wednesday evening. The congressman’s perspective was drawn on the principle of whether the farm bill is a document to assure the production of enough food and fiber, or whether it’s a document for Washington lobbyists to decide how farmers live their lives. Representative Lucas maintains that the legislation’s purpose is the former.  Below is the entire session between Rep. Frank Lucas and farm broadcasters.

AUDIO: Frank Lucas (15 min. MP3)

Filed Under: News, USDA/Government Tagged With: ,
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