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House Ag Committee member Axne identifies several priorities

A member of the House Agriculture Committee says she and her colleagues are focusing on several issues as the 117^th Congress gets underway.

Iowa Democrat Cindy Axne tells Brownfield one of them involves maintaining and building market access for farmers.

“As we’ve come out of the last few years being hit on dramatically as far as market opportunities, we know that’s going to be a key priority.”

She says addressing shortfalls in rural broadband will be another focus, as will supporting biofuels and improving cattle market transparency.

“I’ve put out policy and will be reintroducing it to ensure that our independent cattle producers aren’t shut out because of market consolidation and manipulation.”

Axne says her bill requires processors to purchase 50 percent of their weekly slaughter from cash markets within a 14-day delivery.