Farm Bill Update – the Committee Drafts are in
Last week we told you that the Senate and House Agriculture Committees were having their respective committee markup sessions, where the committees wrote a basic draft of the Farm Bill. Here’s a quick recap on the process: the Chairs and Ranking Members of each committee putting together an initial draft and presenting it to the […]
Get the inside scoop on the Farm Bill with farmbillprimer.org
Congressional voting records. Appropriation amounts. More acronyms than you can shake a scuffle hoe at. Starting to feel overwhelmed already by the massive amount of data surrounding the Farm Bill? Sometimes when we’re feeling swamped, we turn to FarmBillPrimer.org, a great resource for data, maps, and analysis. This week we scored an interview with Marjorie Roswell, […]
Thank you for speaking up! Reporting back on Farmer Programs in the Senate
First of all, a huge thank you to everyone who took the time last week to sign the petition, make calls, tell friends, etc. about the Senate’s budget vote. As a refresher, there were three big pushes we had: to push funding for the beginning farmer programs that had been left high and dry in […]
Update on pro-farmer Tester amendments – it's not too late to take action!
First, a gigantic thank you to those who made calls and signed the petition supporting the Tester amendments this week! As a quick refresher, the two amendments are to remove two hideous riders to the Senate Continuing Resolution bill (in layman’s terms, they are mini-bills tacked on to the 6-month budget proposal that the Senate […]
Updates from DC: Victories on Conservation, Action Needed Today on Loans, GMO's, and Meat
Thank you all so much for making calls over the past week regarding the Senate vote on funding farmer programs! We have some news to report, and one more thing to ask of you, so read on: The proposed Continuing Resolution (the government’s 6-month budget plan) that was announced on Monday did indeed fix the […]
Young Farmers Take to Washington!
The halls of Congress heard ringing of cowboy boots and the stomping of mud-stained muck boots this past week as farmers from across the country descended on our nation’s capitol. On Monday and Tuesday, the Young Farmers Coalition brought five beginning farmers from California, South Dakota, Colorado, and New York to Washington, DC to meet […]
Action Alert – Fund Beginning Farmer Programs in the new C.R.
Hey all-We want to give out a huge Thank You! to the intrepid young farmers who came from the four corners of the country to speak with Senators and Representatives earlier this week about the importance of beginning farmer programs in the USDA budget. (Stay tuned to the blog for a reportback on that adventure […]
A Brief History of the 2012 Farm Bill
We get a lot of questions about exactly what went down with the Farm Bill last year. (Honestly, it was head-spinning confusion even for seasoned policy experts.) To help shed a little light, here’s a play-by-play recap: For starters, what is the Farm Bill and how does it affect me? The Farm Bill is an […]
A possible fix to stranded farm bill programs (and sequestration) announced in the senate
Late last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) released the Senate Democrats’ proposal to avoid the upcoming sequestration through spending cuts and revenue increases. Included in this “American Family Economic Protection Act” proposal were a number of changes to USDA spending, many addressing shortcomings of the terrible Farm Bill extension passed in early January. […]
For Better or Worse, a Farm Bill – A Quick Wrap-up
At long last, the Farm Bill race of 2012 is over. The past week has been a flurry of activity in Congress, as the looming fiscal cliff spurred Washington to action. Despite the public attention on the Farm Bill over the past year, the conclusion to the long drama came not in a fiery showdown […]