Post
Early harvest, politics top 2010 agriculture stories
2010 will be known not for record crops, but for good crops that led to one of the most trouble-free harvests in recent memory. It will be known not for glutted markets, but for demand-driven prices that held up even through the gathering of the crop.
Quite opposite from the previous year, corn went through the growing season challenged by heat in some areas, and by deluge in others, but it dried down in the field in time for many growers to finish combining in shirtsleeves.
The political pendulum swung out of the Democrats’ favor and into the Republicans’ favor in 2010, resulting in a shift in power in the U.S. House of Representatives and a closer balance of power in the Senate. That shift, and the election defeat of Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln, will result agriculture committee leadership changes in both chambers. The lame duck lawmaking session proved to be active, however. It was characterized from either side of the aisle as being productive.
Sweeping tax legislation provided for an extension of ethanol tax incentives, renewed incentives for biodiesel and reformation of estate taxes that have vexed farm organizations for decades.
African American and Native American farmers received a settlement from the USDA to conclude what Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack referred to as a “sad chapter” of discrimination in U.S. history.
Animal rights activists appealed successfully to Missouri voters to pass restrictions on dog breeders. But animal agriculture interests campaigned vigorously for the measure’s defeat, fearing that further efforts at ballot initiatives may adversely affect their operations. These and other agriculture stories, including voices of the newsmakers, are part of Brownfield’s 2010 Year in Review.
Add Comment