Congressional spending fights are slowing the formal start of writing a new farm bill. Farm bill writers are unlikely to move ahead with formal work on a new farm bill until partisan fights over key spending issues are resolved. American Farm Bureau budget adviser R.J. Karney. Fights Once lawmakers can “check the box” on those issues, Karney says it will …
Farm Bureau Talks Ag Policy Work in The New Year
2017 was a busy year for the American Farm Bureau Federation when it came to influencing agricultural policy at the federal level. Dale Moore is executive director for public policy with the Farm Bureau and he says there were several policy victories to celebrate from last year. Victories There were other victories when it came to government regulations and taxes. …
NCBA Talks Ag Policy Victories
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) calls 2017 an “interesting year” that saw a significant number of policy wins. However, there’s a lot of work ahead in 2018. One of the biggest policy victories of last year was a 90-day delay in the electronic logging device mandate that was scheduled to go into effect for all delivery haulers, including those …
Alabama Cattlemen’s Association Ready for Legislative Session
The 2018 Alabama Legislative Session kicks off next week, as the annual event begins January 9th in Montgomery. Alabama Cattlemen’s Association Executive Vice President Erin Beasley is looking forward to it. Alabama Cattlemen’s Association Ready for Legislative Session Sponsored ContentFlorida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides Funding For Quicker Response to Research QuestionsApril 10, 2026Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides Opportunities That Spark …
Farm Bill Work to Focus on Key Problem Areas
2018 Farm Bill work, once formal action starts, is likely to focus on a handful of key problem areas. There won’t be a lot of money to write a new farm bill this year, so farm bill writers are expected to focus on fixing with limited dollars, a handful of 2014 bill problems. American Farm Bureau Federation public policy executive …
Pressing Congressional Business May Slow Farm Bill More
Work on the 2018 farm bill is already some three-months late, and with other pressing Congressional business, likely to get even later, according to farm lobbyists in Washington, D.C. Farm bill work was sidelined last year by the GOP tax bill. Now, keeping the government funded, healthcare, immigration and security issues are immediate concerns for Congress. American Farm Bureau Federation …
The Farm Bill Is in Our Future
The Farm Bill is going to be in our future. There is a 10-year baseline, but every five years, we get a new Farm Bill. The 2014 Farm Bill is projected to cost about $956 billion. Coming up, we don’t know the exact budget figures as of yet. But SNAP, the Food Stamp program, is a full 77 percent of …
Producers Looking to D.C. for Disaster Aid
Florida citrus growers were optimistic after the House passed an $81 billion disaster package by a vote of 251-169. However, Politico says House Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas says it’s unlikely that the upper chamber will take up the disaster bill before the end of the year. The bill faces strong opposition from Democrats, who say the bill doesn’t …
Last Minute 2017 Legislation Efforts Benefit Dairy Farmers
Congress spent the final few weeks of the year addressing legislation that benefits dairy farmers. Starting with the tax bill, the legislation means lower taxes for dairy farmers. However, that wasn’t the case in the original legislation, according to National Milk Producers Federation spokesperson Chris Galen. Tax While the Section 199 deduction was eliminated in the approved version of the …
Perdue Hopeful for NAFTA Resolution
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiation talks are taking longer than originally expected due to reported disagreements among trade representatives. Although people may be skeptical that a cohesive resolution will be made, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue believes agreements will be made in the end. AgNet Media’s Abbey Taylor was able to catch up with him in Tallahassee …