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Balanced Reporting. Trusted Insights.
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Iowa US Senator Tom Harkin has been a voice for farm and rural issues for four decades in Washington. Working with eight different farm bills, Harkin championed the nation's efforts on conservation, nutrition, energy and farm policy. The Iowa Democrat says future farm policy will require a broader coalition of voters that represent rural issues as well as agriculture and more tools to protect natural resources.
Nebraska Senator Mike Johanns believes the lame duck agenda will be brief and the 114th congress challenged with a blizzard of regulatory authority exerted from the Obama administration. While the GOP majority in both the House and Senate cannot be ignored, both chambers may struggle to muster enough votes to override a presidential veto on key issues. Johanns expects a tremendous amount of energy around the appropriations and budget process in the new congress. Many wonder what might be the next political step for this Nebraska Republican.
While the dairy industry has seen improved financial stability this year, Tom Gallagher CEO of Dairy Management Incorporated says the combination of larger global supplies and unstable economies makes the 2015 dairy outlook more challenging. Domestically, Gallagher says DMI has signed seven different partnerships to boost fluid milk consumption to a health and wellness minded consumer base. The effort will see an investment of over half a billion dollars in new packaging and new products to grow market share at home and with consumers around the world.
Along with other food and beverage manufacturers, the Snack Food Association opposes individual state mandated food labels. Tom Dempsey, CEO of the SFA says their members aren't concerned about the safety of foods with ingredients from genetically enhanced crops but they do support a single federal law regarding food labeling and GMOs. Dempsey says the menu of snack foods continues to expand and is finding a larger share of consumer's diets with portable foods consumed between meals.
Amid unease in the strength of the domestic and global economy the Farm Credit Administration has seen growth in the quantity and quality of loans. Dr. Jill Long Thompson Board Chair and CEO of the Farm Credit Administration believes the 2014 farm bill provides the risk management tools tools producers need to weather the cyclical shift in commodity prices and pending higher interest rates. Remembering the farm crisis in the 1980's and the meltdown in the financial sector in 2008, Thompson says the Farm Credit Administration and the Farm Credit system are working to ensure a safe and sound lending system for generations to come.
Jeff Nalley
Dr. Jill Long Thompson Board Chair and CEO of the Farm Credit Administration
Challenged to enhance sustainability and increase productivity, the crop industry continues to search for new scientific benchmarks to meet the growing demand for food, fiber and fuel. Jim Blome, President and CEO of Bayer CropScience says the company is heavily invested in discovering new benchmarks in genetics, conventional plant breeding, biologics, and crop protection. Blome says the crop science industry needs consistent and predictable domestic and global regulatory system to give farmers access to new innovations in the industry.
