Farm bill
Top question for 2018 farm bill: Is the safety net working?
Congress is two years away from drafting the new farm bill but Roger Johnson already can name the leading question for farm policy. "The big issue in the next farm bill will be, is the safety net really working for farmers?" Johnson, the president of the National Farmers Union, told Ag Insider. "We have a lot of folks who are beginning to struggle financially."
House panel would delay menu labels to late 2017, or beyond
The House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees USDA and FDA is writing its own guarantee of a gradual transition to calorie counts on menus a restaurants, carry-outs, stores and fast-food stands. It included a rider, Section 735, in its USDA-FDA funding bill saying enforcement cannot occur until a year after Dec. 1, 2016, or a year after the FDA issues the final rule on menu labels.
A long-shot attempt to tighten farm-subsidy rules
Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley is blunt about how farm-subsidy reform was watered down in the 2014 farm law. "We were snookered," he says, by the four lawmakers who negotiated the final version of the law. Now he's trying to "eliminate the loophole that was intentionally included in the farm bill."
Spare us from budget cuts, says everyone in ag and food
In a show of solidarity, 254 groups spanning the world of food and agriculture signed a letter of opposition to any cuts in USDA programs in the coming fiscal year.
Lower food-stamp costs spur some farm-bill crowing
Cost savings under the 2014 farm law will be more than twice as large as originally forecast, around $36 billion over 10 years, thanks to markedly lower projected outlays on food stamps and crop insurance, says the House Agriculture Committee.
Revenge of the farm bill
Four farm bill skeptics - Republicans Eric Cantor, Steve Southerland, Pat Roberts and Mitch McConnell - are having an ample share of electoral trouble, writes David Rogers at Politico. Cantor, the former House majority leader, was defeated in his Virginia primary election. Southerland, Roberts and McConnell face strong challenges in the general election. Politico notes there are unique factors in each race and the farm bill is a minor issue, if at all.
USDA solidifies timetable to put farm bill to work
The Agriculture Department awarded $6 million to educate farmers about subsidies available in the new farm law and said enrollment would begin this summer for the new Margin Protection Program for dairy. Grain and soybean growers will make a key decision this winter - selecting either the insurance-like Agriculture Risk Coverage program or the Price Loss Coverage program, a more traditional approach, as their safety net through the 2018 crops.