John Boozman

Farm lending concerns came up at a recent Senate disaster aid hearing as lawmakers grappled with the lack of a Farm Bill and help for financially struggling producers.   “I’ve never been in a situation where the bankers are coming in saying, ‘if you don’t do something, we’re not going to be able to, because of our bank examiners, we’re not going to be able to provide the credit that our farmers ne

The American Farm Bureau Federation and other major farm groups spent much of Wednesday congratulating President-elect Trump, vowing to work with him and Congressional leaders to advance top Ag priorities, including a new Farm Bill.  AFB President Zippy Duvall says it’s now time to “put politics aside” and finish a new five-year farm bill.   “We’ve been p...

While the 2024 Farm Bill has been stalled for multiple months, the legislative logjam is showing a few signs of breaking after key ag groups took to Capitol Hill last week to share the economic reality facing farmers and ranchers. In a letter last week to House Ag Committee Democrats, Ranking Member David Scott, from Georgia, said, “We all know that Congress needs pressure to act. That’... Read Mo

Congress returns in two weeks and Ag lawmakers are expected to resume their push for a long overdue Farm Bill.  Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow told Politico on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention, in Chicago, that she still hopes to pass one more Farm Bill before she retires from the Senate.  But Sta...

Senate Ag members repeatedly stressed the importance of crop insurance and the need to restructure commodity programs in the 2023 Farm Bill during the panel’s latest hearing.   “Crop insurance is the number one risk management tool for producers, but historically, hasn’t been available to some farmers who are most in need of it," said Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow.  "I’m going to conti

USDA Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh’s announced retirement last week will soon leave a key department post without a political appointee.  Bronaugh’s announcement she wants to spend more time with her family is a key loss for USDA and Secretary Tom Vilsack.  Senate Ag Ranking M...

Late last week, Representative Dan Newhouse was named a co-Chair of the House Paper & Packaging Caucus.  The bipartisan caucus represents the American paper and wood products industry, which employees over 27,000 Washingtonians.   Newh...

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association supports the Senate version of the Protect Farmers from the SEC Act, a companion bill to legislation introduced into the House of Representatives.   “The Securities and Exchange Commissions’ overly broad rulemaking has the potential to increase burdens on cattle producers by requiring data that’s impossible to provide,” says NCBA Chief Counsel Mary-Thomas

Leadership of the Senate Agriculture Committee recently urged the Department of Agriculture to expand margin protection tools under the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.  Citing record high input costs and extreme volatility in commodity prices, Senators Debbie Stabenow and John Boozman said the expansion would “allow producers the opportunity to familiarize themselves with these tools and bette

USDA nominees for top trade and food safety posts will now have to wait until after the midterm elections in November for Senate confirmation votes.  The Senate wrapped up work Thursday to head home for campaigns without confirming Biden USDA undersecretary nominees Oregon Department of Ag head Alexis Taylor for trade and Jose Emilio Esteban for food safety.  That’s ...