Archives
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010

December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009

December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008

December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007

December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006

December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005

December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004

News archives

Monday, April 30, 2007

Consumers Deserve COOL More Than Ever
Billings, Mont. – No longer should Congress or the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) continue to postpone the implementation of Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL), a law on the books since the 2002 Farm Bill was passed. Thousands of U.S. hogs in six states were quarantined this week ... Continued...

Struggling to Make Ends Meet
Americans continue to see their neighbors struggling to make ends meet – are very concerned -but remain hopeful of improvements Northwest Area Foundation National Survey Reveals *Seven in ten say it takes at least $40,000 annually to care for a family of four *Nearly half say they regularly c... Continued...

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Farmers Support Expanded CSP
The Conservation Security Program (CSP) is popular among farmers and is spurring on-farm conservation, according to the report The Conservation Security Program Drives Resource Management: An Assessment of CSP Implementation in Five Midwestern States. The report finds that farmers enrolled in CS... Continued...

Food for the World
THE UNITED States is, by far, the largest donor of food in the world. But the U.S. Agency for International Development might feed many more people if it didn't have to comply with several troublesome congressional mandates. USAID must buy only American-grown foodstuffs and cover the cost of tran... Continued...

The High Price of Cheap Food
If you're reading this on a fair Sunday, journalist Michael Pollan is probably in his garden. That's where he harvests a lot of his ideas for his award-winning books and articles on what's for dinner and how it got to our plate. Orville Schell, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Journalism, persuade... Continued...

The covert biotech war
The president of Zambia is wrong. Genetically modified food is not, as far as we know, "poison". While adequate safety tests have still to be conducted, there is as yet no compelling evidence that it is any worse for human health than conventional food. Given the choice with which the people of Zamb... Continued...

PR's Brass-Knuckled Boys
In February, Nick Nichols-chairman of the Nichols-Dezenhall Communications Management Group, a Washington-based public- relations firm-testified before the House Resources Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. He did not mince words, telling lawmakers that dealing with environmental extremi... Continued...

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Farm Bill Commodity Programs - Testimony from Tom Buis, National Farmers Union
STATEMENT OF TOM BUIS PRESIDENT, NATIONAL FARMERS UNION U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION AND FORESTRY ECONOMIC CHALLENEGS AND OPPORTUNITIES FACIGN AMERICAN AGRICULTURE PRODUCERS TODAY APRIL 25, 2007 Contents 1. NFU Policy Process and Farm Bill Principle... Continued...

US Farm Bill Commodity Programs - Testimony from Larry Mitchell, American Corn Growers Association
TESTIMONY PRESENTED BY THE AMERICAN CORN GROWERS ASSOCIATION BEFORE THE SENATE AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION AND FORESTRY COMMITTEE THE HONORABLE TOM HARKIN, CHAIRMAN APRIL 25, 2007 BY LARRY MITCHELL CHIEF EXECUTIVE AMERICAN CORN GROWERS ASSOCIATION Introduction Chairman Harkin, R... Continued...

Latest Senate farm bill hearing yields raft of opinions
The Senate Agriculture Committee held its last in a three-part series of hearings on economic challenges facing U.S. ag producers ahead of the 2007 farm bill Wednesday morning, this one on the commodity title. Chairman Tom Harkin of Iowa summed up the challenge facing lawmakers in crafting farm legi... Continued...

Johanns releases part of USDA's farm bill language
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced Wednesday that the USDA has submitted legislative language for the conservation and credit titles of the next farm bill to Congress. Johanns' offer to help write the farm bill has gotten a mixed reception on Capitol Hill. Last week the ranking Republic... Continued...

States, EPA Raise Water Quality Concerns Over New Ethanol Incentives
EPA and state groundwater regulators are seeking to document cases where ethanol plants are harming local water supplies and water quality, as a way to show Congress the harm that will result from additional subsidies for corn production to produce ethanol and other renewable fuels. The regulator... Continued...

Economist: Farm bill won't help
LUBBOCK - Cotton producers in Texas and across the country will see a 15 percent drop in their net income in the first year of a 2007 farm bill proposal from the Bush administration, a model run by economists at Texas Tech University shows. Over five years, the decline could average 11 percent. ... Continued...

Alliances formed to help shape language in Farm Bill
DUNDEE, Ill. -- Conservation groups dedicated to protecting everything from ducks to trout have joined forces to help influence the makeup of the 2007 Farm Bill. "Never before have so many groups come together to work like this on the Farm Bill," said Tim Zink, communications director for the The... Continued...

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Bergland Looks Back
It's been 30 years since Bob Bergland was at the helm at USDA, but the former Secretary of Agriculture, who served the Carter Administration from 1977 to 1981, has some advice for the authors of the new Farm Bill. "It is highly unlikely that a 'stay the course' strategy is either possible or the... Continued...

High-flying commodity prices crimp U.S. food buying for poor
Washington, D.C. — Not long ago, soup kitchens like the six sites run by Central Iowa Shelter and Services in the Des Moines area could count on the federal government for a wide variety of foods: milk, cheese, meat, fruit juice and canned vegetables. Those foods - provided at nominal cost to sou... Continued...

Farmers clash over modified crops
Organic and conventional farmers find themselves on opposite sides of the fence as the Legislature considers a bill to make manufacturers of genetically modified seeds liable for damages if their products spread to other crops. Some supporters of the bill, sponsored by Rep. James Schatz, D-Blue H... Continued...

Ending an addiction: Time to move away from farm subsidies
Many in Congress talk the right talk when it comes to protecting the environment, fighting obesity, helping developing countries compete in a global market and ending taxpayer subsidies to rich U.S. corporations. Yet when they rewrite the farm bill -- as they are doing this year -- those principl... Continued...

Conservation is key Farm Bill fight
Farm Bill fights usually center on the legislation's commodity title, the section that explains who, when and how farmers can tap the federal treasury should crop prices fall. But with the key aggies in Congress already in tacit agreement not to overhaul the 2002 Farm Bill's commodity program, th... Continued...

Subcommittee Reviews USDA Farm Bill Conservation Programs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy and Research held a hearing to review USDA Farm Bill conservation programs. Congressman Tim Holden of Pennsylvania is Chairman of the Subcommittee. “In the 2002 farm bill, we funded the most signific... Continued...