The farm bill draft released by the House Agriculture committee includes provisions that “would reverse decades of precedent,” and usher in an era of “unlimited farm subsidies for the nation’s largest mega-farms,” according to the National Sustainable Ag Coalition. The coalition calls the farm bill a “brazen attempt to undo years of statute for the benefit of the nation’s largest …
Farmers Have Other Concerns Than Farm Bill
Farmers are more concerned with trade and being burdened with over-regulation, rather than the farm bill, according to one U.S. Senator. Republican Roy Blunt of Missouri said during a Senate hearing last week that “the farm bill never came up” during a recent listening session with farmers in his state, as pointed out by the Food and Environment Reporting Network. …
Farm Leaders Visit Opioid Memorial in Show of Unity
The presidents of the nation’s two largest general farm organizations visited the “Prescribed to Death” opioid memorial in Washington, D.C., in a show of unity to address the national opioid epidemic that is disproportionately affecting farming communities. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall and National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson joined Anne Hazlett, Assistant to the Secretary for Rural …
Industry Donors Help Cultivate Emerging Florida Crops
About five years ago, University of Florida environmental horticulture assistant professor Brian Pearson started growing hops in his backyard. Finding success, he and two other UF researchers are exploring whether they can grow the crop for commercial use to help Florida’s micro-brewing industry. With the help of grants and private financial and in-kind donations, Pearson and UF Institute of Food …
Culver’s to Donate Custard Sales to FFA
Culver’s announced it will donate proceeds from custard sales to FFA on May 3rd. Proceeds from every scoop purchased will go to FFA and other local agricultural organizations, according to the restaurant chain. Thursday May, 3rd is Culver’s Scoops of Thanks Day. Scoops of Thanks Day is part of Culver’s Thank You Farmers Project. The project supports agricultural education programs, …
API: Forcing Year-round E15 Sales a Concern
While the Trump administration was met with applause from many in agriculture in suggesting it will grant an E15 summertime waiver, to allow sales year-round, oil industry officials are expressing concern. The American Petroleum Institute says forcing higher ethanol fuel blends into the marketplace “could have negative consequences for the American consumer.” API claims higher ethanol blends, such as E15, …
Farm Co-ops Applaud the American Food for American Schools Act
The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives applauded the introduction of The American Food for American Schools Act. The legislation in the Senate will strengthen monitoring and enforcement of “Buy American” provisions of the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs, if approved. Chuck Conner, president and CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, says the last several years has seen …
Farm Credit Administration Releases Quarterly Report
A report on the performance of the Farm Credit System shows 2018 is another challenging year for agriculture. The report, presented to the Farm Credit Administration board, outlines the economic issues affecting agriculture. Based on its first forecast of the 2018 farm economy, The Department of Agriculture projects net farm income to decline by 6.7 percent, with both crop and …
Pence: “Very Close” to Renegotiated NAFTA
Vice President Mike Pence said over the weekend he is “very hopeful” the U.S. is close to a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement. Talks to reach an agreement continue this week in Washington, D.C., as all sides are eyeing an early May finish line. Pence spoke at the Summit of the Americas in Peru over the weekend. He told …
Immigration Verification Proposal Scuttled
Florida businesses won’t have to worry about voters requiring them to verify the immigration status of new employees. The state Constitution Revision Commission on Monday rejected a proposal that would have asked voters in November to require businesses to use a system similar to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Employment Authorization Program, known as E-Verify, to determine immigration-related eligibility …