Washington Policy
Commodity Farmers Testify Before House Ag Committee
May 20, 2010, Source: Farm Press
Farm commodity representatives asked members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture to do all they can to maintain the basic structure of the 2008 Farm Bill...
Corn Recovery from Frost Damage; ACRE 2010
May 18, 2010, By Kent Thiesse
Recovery from the frost damage that occurred on May 9 across the Upper Midwest has been quite slow...
Lukewarm Farm-Group Reactions To Senate Climate-Change Bill
May 14, 2010, By John Pocock
Late last week, Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) released details of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S.1733) to the public. However, the response from two mainstream groups representing U.S. corn growers and farmers was lukewarm, at best...
Will Future Farm Bills Allow for No Payment Limit?
May 4, 2010, By Forrest Laws
Could the 2012 farm bill be written in a way that payment limits would not be an issue? That’s the possibility raised by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Colin Peterson...
Should Crop Producers Enroll in ACRE for 2010?
May 4, 2010, Source: University of Illinois
As authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill, producers on eligible farms may elect to participate in the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) Program...
Farmers Speak Out in Support of Atrazine
Apr 29, 2010, Source: National Corn Growers Association
Farm groups traveled to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to voice support for atrazine before the third in a series of hearings being held by the U.S. EPA to re-review the critically effective herbicide...
USDA Announces Initiative to Improve Ag Energy Conservation, Efficiency
Apr 22, 2010, Source: USDA
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced an initiative designed to help agricultural producers transition to more energy efficient operations. This initiative will make funding available for...
Ethanol Tax Incentive Extension Saves Jobs, Encourages Investment
Mar 26, 2010, Source: Renewable Fuels Association
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) recently praised the bipartisan Renewable Fuels Reinvestment Act (RFRA). The bill, HR 4940, would extend the 45˘ Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC), commonly called the blenders’ credit, and the secondary tariff on imported ethanol until Dec. 31, 2015...
Second Jobs Bill in Senate Includes Ag Disaster Package
Mar 3, 2010, Source: Farm Press
A new jobs bill in the Senate includes an ag disaster package that was cut from a bill passed earlier in the year. Sens. Mac Baucus and Harry Reid introduced the legislation, which is expected to be put on the fast track...
Cuba Bill Increases U.S. Agricultural One-Way Trade
Mar 1, 2010, Source: National Corn Growers Association
The National Corn Growers Association today announced support of H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act. This bill, introduced by U.S. House of Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Rep. Jerry Moran (R-KS), will expand one-way trade and lift current travel restrictions with Cuba...
Corn and Soybeans Supported by Demand
Feb 23, 2010, By Forrest Laws
U.S. corn, soybean and wheat farmers are benefiting from record demand at home and abroad, demand which is preventing record crop production from pushing commodity prices much below current levels, USDA Chief Economist Joseph Glauber says...
ASA Calls for Senate to Put Biodiesel Jobs Back in Jobs Bill
Feb 17, 2010, Source: American Soybean Association
The American Soybean Association (ASA) is calling for the Senate to reinsert a retroactive extension of the biodiesel tax incentive in the first jobs bill it passes to save the jobs of 23,000 people working in the biodiesel industry...
Federal Budget Proposal for 2011
Feb 9, 2010, By Kent Thiesse
Earlier this month, President Obama released his proposed federal budget for fiscal year (FY) 2011, which begins on Oct. 1, 2010. The proposed federal budget is $3.8 trillion, which will allow the federal deficit to reach a record $1.6 trillion in the current fiscal year, before dropping to an estimated $1.3 trillion in 2011...
ISU Economist Testifies On Cap-and-Trade Bill
Feb 9, 2010, Source: Iowa State University
The current legislation in Congress on controlling carbon outputs, often called cap and trade, could potentially increase corn and soybean prices more than 20%, according to Dermot Hayes, Iowa State University ...
Helping Keep Grower Profits in Grower Pockets
Feb 4, 2010, Source: National Corn Growers Association
While most farmers are preparing for the planting season, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) knows there is growing concern over major tax policy changes that may be coming our way. The volatility of income and production costs that growers have seen the last few years makes the tax code even more important for farm profitability...
Obama Budget Proposes Slashing Ag Programs
Feb 3, 2010
President Barack Obama released his proposed 2011 budget this week and immediately caught the ire of several farm groups, including the American Soybean Association (ASA). Specifically, the President’s new budget includes proposed reductions in federal support for crop insurance, cuts in maximum amounts of direct farm payments allowed to producers and a reduction in growth of conservation programs...
Corn Growers Applaud Missouri Leadership
Feb 2, 2010
Missouri Corn Growers Association (MCGA) farmer-leaders and CEO Gary Marshall joined Reps. Ike Skelton (D-04) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-08) this morning to support proposed legislation to strengthen America's renewable fuels industry and strip the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of their power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act...
Obama’s Proposed Budget Targets Farm, Conservation Programs
Feb 2, 2010
Agriculture advocacy groups have reacted with a flurry of unhappy responses to President Obama’s Feb. 1 release of his proposed 2011 budget. The proposed budget “reflects the serious challenges facing the country,” said Obama the day of its release...
Obama Seeks Farm Payment, Insurance Support Cuts
Feb 2, 2010, Source: Brock Associates
President Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget proposal, which was made public on Monday, calls for lower income caps on eligibility for federal farm programs, a reduction in the maximum amount of direct payments that producers can receive annually and a cut in federal support for crop insurance...
Senators Oppose EPA on Greenhouse Gases
Jan 29, 2010, By Forrest Laws
Farm organizations are welcoming the decisions of the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee to support a Senate resolution opposing EPA’s plan to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases through the Clean Air Act...
NCGA Opposes House Cap-and-Trade Legislation
Jan 21, 2010
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Darrin Ihnen has released the following statement related to the decision announced today to oppose H.R. 2454, The American Clean Energy and Security Act...
USDA Streamlines Farm Payment Limits
Jan 6, 2010, Source: Farm Press
The actions are intended to strengthen the integrity and defensibility of USDA farm safety net programs and help the agricultural industry to meet requirements included in the 2008 farm bill...
SURE Program Final Rule Published; Sign-up Begins
Jan 6, 2010, Source: Farm Press
After more than a year of work, the final rule implementing the Supplemental Revenue Assistance (SURE) program has finally been published by the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). According to Lubbock-based Plains Cotton Growers, Inc. (PCG) and the Southwest Council of Agribusiness it appears that the final rule...
USDA Analysis Confirms Cap-and-Trade Damages Agriculture
Dec 16, 2009, Source: U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns, Nebraska
The USDA has provided a summary of its latest analysis of the cap-and-trade bill, and we now have a clearer picture of just how much damage the bill would do to agriculture. Several of my Senate colleagues and I requested the analysis in July, and it's taken...
Senate Disaster Bill Draws Criticism
Dec 9, 2009, By Forrest Laws
New disaster legislation should be targeted to farmers who need it most without regard to the types of crops they produce, the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) has written in a letter to the sponsors of an ad hoc disaster bill...
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