2023 Farm Bill

The way things are going, or not going, on Capitol Hill right now, it's going to be very hard to get a new Farm Bill passed, that according to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack.  While visiting with a group of Farmers Union members Monday, Secretary Vilsack shared what it will take to get a Farm Bill on the books.   “...

Drawing attention to the worsening economic conditions impacting the nation’s food growers, over 300 national and state groups, including the American Bankers Association, Oregon Dairy Farmers Association, the U.S. Canola Association, Idaho Barley Commission, and others,  sent a letter to congressional leaders about the need for a new farm bill. Signatories stressed the...

Congress may take the only Farm Bill action politically possible this month, which is to extend the old Farm Bill yet again.   “In the Senate, we can’t reach an agreement that reflects what the House has done in a bipartisan way to make sure the next five-year farm bill reflects the inflation in agriculture that has been obvious since 2018," noted Senate Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa.   I

Ag bankers fear an economic cliff in farm country without a new Farm Bill.  That’s according to one longtime Ag banker who recently testified before the House Agriculture Committee.  Tony Hotchkiss has spent the last 41 years in Ag banking and now chairs the Agriculture and Rural Bankers Committee of the American Bankers Association.    “With rising in...

Farm bill arguments have come in all shapes and sizes the past year, but sometimes it’s the human one that hits a chord; and it appears that is what happened during a recent House Ag Committee hearing.  GreenPoint Retail Senior Vice President Joey Caldwell told House Ag lawmakers that farming is unlike any profession.   "When ...

U.S. sugar industry leaders met in Seattle, WA last week for the 39th annual International Sweetener Symposium hosted by the American Sugar Alliance.  This year’s conference was titled “Stability, Security, Safety: The Need for a Strong Farm Bill”.  National Farmers Union Pr...

The Senate Agriculture Committee released a newsletter entitled “Farm Bill 101: Protecting Our Lands and Water.”

2023 marks five years since the last Farm Bill was voted on and put into play so it is time to draw up a new bill.

Global hunger and malnutrition pose significant threats to U.S. national security, according to a new report commissioned by Farm Journal Foundation.  The report, authored by researchers from Texas A&M University, examines how global food insecurity is linked to numerous geopolitical risks. Increasing i...

After a Red Wave that wasn’t in November, Washington D.C. is very partisan and very tight, with no clear advantage for either of the major parties.   What does that mean for farm county, and issues important for at the Ag sector?   J...