The National Cotton Council (NCC) lauds the work of the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity that was presented to President Trump this week. The task force was formed following the signing of an Executive Order by President Trump in 2017. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue served as chairman of the task force which identified more than 100 recommendations to …
NFU President Johnson: Tax Reform Hurts Farm Bill
The recent tax reform package will hurt farm bill negotiations, according to National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson. He says President Trump’s tax package will affect farmers in two ways. Tax Citing PAYGO – a budget rule requiring that tax cuts as well as increases in entitlement and other mandatory spending must be covered by tax increases or cuts …
Farm Bureau Sets 2018 Policy Agenda
Delegates of American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) in Nashville, Tennessee, this week fine-tuned the organizations policy book for the year, to include improvements in the farm bill. AFBF Public Policy Executive Director Dale Moore says AFBF members want changes to the cotton and dairy programs in the next farm bill. Farm Bill AFBF also seeks an improved Agriculture Risk Coverage …
USDA Investing Millions in Wildfire Mitigation and Water Quality Projects Through Joint Chiefs’ Partnership
Projects will restore healthy forests on private and public lands in 24 states The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest nearly $32 million this year to mitigate wildfire risk, improve water quality and restore healthy forest ecosystems in 24 states and Puerto Rico. Since 2014, USDA has invested $176 million in 56 Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership Projects, which …
Georgia Ag Commissioner Gary Black on Rural Prosperity Task Force Report
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black issued the following statement: “Our agricultural and rural communities have always been the backbone of our state and national economy and I applaud Secretary Perdue and the efforts of the Rural Prosperity Task Force that demonstrate a renewed emphasis on rural areas and agriculture production. President Trump has in just one year already publicly …
November 2017 Pork Exports Set Value Record
Pork exports in November of last year set the highest-ever monthly value record, while beef export value took another step toward a likely full-year value record. November pork exports totaled nearly 224,000 metric tons, down slightly from a year ago, and November export value was a record-high $615.6 million, up five percent year-over-year and just the fourth-time monthly export value …
Senate Ag Gets New Members
The Senate agriculture committee has two new members to start the year. Tina Smith, a Democrat from Minnesota, has joined the committee, along with Nebraska Republican Deb Fischer. Smith was recently appointed to take the seat of resigned Senator Al Franken. She takes the committee seat of Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, who is leaving the Senate Ag …
AFBF Sets 2018 Policy, Raises Membership Dues
A low-key policy session of American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) delegates this week opted to raise annual national dues for members to $5, from $4. The Hagstrom report points out that delegates voted 298 to 50 in favor of the dues increase, but only after rejecting an amendment to limit the increase to 50 cents. The dues increase required a …
Canada Launches WTO Trade Disputes Against U.S.
Canada has launched a wide-ranging trade dispute against the United States that challenges the U.S. use of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties. Canada appeared to be mounting a case on behalf of the rest of the world, since it cited almost 200 examples of alleged U.S. wrongdoing, almost all of them concerning other trading partners, such as China, India, Brazil and …
Trump on NAFTA: Don’t Get Nervous
Following his address to the American Farm Bureau Federation earlier this week, President Donald Trump cautioned farmers and ranchers: “Don’t get nervous” regarding his efforts to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. He made the comments during an interview with RFD-TV. In a separate interview with Agri-Pulse, Trump said: “I’m negotiating tough for the farmers.” Trump says he thinks …