The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held a hearing last Thursday. U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Stephen Censky discussed implementation of the 2018 farm bill. Read Censky’s full testimony.
Perdue Speaks at Sunbelt Ag Expo
During Tuesday’s Farmer of the Year Award luncheon at the Sunbelt Ag Expo, one of the guest speakers was U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. He briefly hit on a few of the issues of importance to Southeast farmers, including disaster relief. Afterwards, during a quick press conference, he told Southeast AgNet’s Randall Weiseman that ag producers who applied for assistance …
Administration Pushing Hard for USMCA Ratification
Administration officials, including the Vice President, are pushing hard for Congressional approval of the USMCA. Gary Crawford has the story.
NRCS Implementing EQIP through 2018 Farm Bill
Since the 2018 Farm Bill was enacted back in December, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been working to implement programs that offers strong support for conservation efforts of America’s farmers and ranchers. They offer financial and technical assistance through conservation practices, activities and enhancements to help producers make and maintain improvements on their land. One of the most …
Meat Institute Challenging California Prop 12
(NAFB) — The North American Meat Institute last Friday filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 12, The Farm Animal Confinement Initiative. The Meat Institute opposes the law because the organization claims the law will “hurt the nation’s food value chain by significantly increasing costs for producers and consumers.” The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court …
House Bill Introduced for Additional Agriculture Inspectors
Last week, U.S. Reps. Filemon Vela (D-Texas), Cindy Axne (D-Iowa), Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), Vincente Gonsalez (D-Texas), Jim Costa (D-Calif.) and Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) introduced the Protecting America’s Food & Agricultural Act (H.R. 4482). It would authorize U.S. Customs and Border Protection to hire more agriculture inspectors in order to prevent an outbreak of African swine fever in the U.S. The …
Impeachment Inquiry Could Dampen Chances of USMCA
(NAFB) — House Democrats seeking to impeach President Donald Trump spells trouble for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement (USMCA). White House officials claim the effort has “destroyed any chances of legislative progress.” Meanwhile, Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says if Democrats in the House use impeachment proceedings as a basis to not act on policy, the effort will halt progress on USMCA. …
NCBA President Jennifer Houston Testifies on State of Cattle Industry
WASHINGTON (NCBA-Sept. 25, 2019) — Jennifer Houston, President of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), testified about the current state of the cattle industry before the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Topics ranged from the effects of the recent fire at a Tyson beef processing facility in Kansas to the pending reauthorization of the Commodity Futures Trading …
NRCS Implementing 2018 Farm Bill Programs
The 2018 Farm Bill was enacted back in December, and since then, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been working to implement programs that offers strong support for conservation efforts of America’s farmers and ranchers. NRCS offers financial and technical assistance through conservation practices, activities and enhancements to help producers make and maintain improvements on their land. The Environmental Quality …
NCGA Leaders Fly-In to Washington
(NCGA) — NCGA State Executives, representing eleven state associations travelled to Washington, D.C. this week to urge members of Congress to pass the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and continue the education effort on NCGA’s Low Carbon/High Octane proposal. The State Executives also pressed lawmakers to use their influence with President Trump regarding potential Administrative actions to mitigate the effects of RFS waivers. …