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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Sunday, September 01, 2024
Five former Natural Resources Conservation Chiefs last week joined specialty crop growers in calling for a loosening of income restrictions for conservation programs, but opponents warned that such a change will only make it harder for smaller farmers to participate.
Interest in agrivoltaics is increasing as the practice is seen as a potential solution to competing land use, and a bipartisan pair of senators is pushing for new research funding in the next farm bill.
Democrats on the House Ag Committee are warning House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that additional GOP attempts to tighten SNAP eligibility could “jeopardize” passage of a farm bill.
A key member of the House Committee on Agriculture outlined major challenges confronting those who want to pass a new farm bill during the annual International Sweetener Symposium.
Texas Democrat Jasmine Crockett, one of the newest members of the House Ag Committee, wants to make sure consumers having trouble accessing healthy food options get relief when Congress considers changes to the farm bill.
Lawmakers continue to struggle with what to do about commodity programs in a new farm bill, including how to pay for increases in reference prices. One idea is to require farmers to update their base acreage to reflect current plantings.
The idea of updating the base acreage that’s used to determine who gets get commodity payments, and how much, has gotten a fresh boost with the endorsement of the National Corn Growers Association. Members of the group believe the savings from requiring farmers to update their base acres could be used to fund increases in commodity program reference prices, a top priority for many farm groups. But a state-by-state map shows that there could be clear winners and losers in the process.
Farm Credit lenders are asking Congress in the upcoming farm bill to expand their authority to rural community facilities and fisheries projects, but some community bankers are worried the changes will siphon away their business.
A bipartisan quintet of House Ag Committee members visited Maine Monday for a listening session on the next farm bill, and many local speakers used the event to call for improved crop insurance in the region.