House Agriculture Committee
DesJarlais wins his race, Cochran wants lawsuit dismissed
House Agriculture Committee member Scott DesJarlais is the undisputed winner of the Republican primary in Tennessee's fourth congressional district.
GOP makes a run at House Ag minority leader Peterson
Minnesota Republicans say they have the best chance in years of defeating 12-term incumbent Collin Peterson, the Democrat leader on the House Agriculture Committee.
House Ag panelist McAllister is favored in Louisiana race
The junior member of the House Agriculture Committee, Vance McAllister, "has suddenly, improbably, become the man to beat this November," says Roll Call.
House Ag Committee member has 33-vote lead in primary
Second-term Rep Scott DesJarlais, a House Agriculture Committee member, had a 33-vote lead with all precincts reporting in his Tennessee congressional district, a razor-thin margin in a race that may not be decided until the month, said the Associated Press.
House GOP eyes block grant, cost-share for food stamps
House Republicans want more cuts in food stamps, the largest U.S. anti-hunger program. Agriculture subcommittee chairman Steve King of Iowa rattled off a list of possible changes to the program - converting it to a block grant, requiring a state cost-share, ending so-called categorical eligibility, toughening work requirements, and closing the "LIHEAP loophole" - at a hearing on Thursday.
A Mississippi hangover in Kansas for conservatives
The protracted battle over the Republican nomination for the Senate in Mississippi distracted activist conservatives and boosted the chances of third-term Sen Pat Roberts in Kansas, says Roll Call. Roberts, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, has a Tea Party challenger, Milton Wolf. "Outside spending in Kansas has been on a much smaller scale compared to the Mississippi race.
Nebraska tops Kansas for No 1 agricultural district
Nebraska Rep Adrian Smith, a fourth-term Republican, could be the new face of American agriculture - he represents the No 1 farm district in the nation, according to a perusal of newly released data from the Census of Agriculture.
Farmland values step off price escalator after long ride up
U.S. farmland values will hold steady or decline somewhat in the near term due to lower grain prices and high production costs, lenders and financial experts told a House Agriculture subcommittee.
House hearing looks at rural credit as ag markets tighten
Private and public lenders are scheduled to testify on availability in rural America at a House Agriculture subcommittee hearing.
House passes CFTC bill, Stabenow says more is needed
The House passed, 265-144, its bill to reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the regulator of the vast derivatives market.
Hello, CFTC reauthorization; adieu, school lunch waiver
The U.S. House may take up reauthorization of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission this week. It is one of two major bills on the agenda; the other is the Defense Department appropriations bill for fiscal 2015.
Anti-hunger lawmaker expects more attacks on food stamps
Rep Jim McGovern, who opposed food stamp cuts in the 2014 farm law, says opponents are not satisfied with narrowing the connection between utility assistance and additional food stamps.
How much of grocer revenue comes from food stamps?
The government could soon be required to make public how much a retailer or a specific store records in food stamp sales, says a story in Mother Jones and produced in partnership with the Food and Environment Reporting Network; a longer version appears at thefern.org.
Two House chairmen put a bite on heat-and-eat
House Republicans, who have accused states of cheating by averting cuts in food stamps, have raised a new argument -- that state governments discriminate against some poor people by holding on to food stamps for other poor people.
Dietary Guidelines committee scrutinizes food sustainability
The panel writing the new edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans - the government's tips for healthy eating - is wading into the question of food systems sustainability.
House Ag quickly approves chairman’s CFTC bill
Members of the House Agriculture Committe quickly approved their chairman's proposal to reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission while creating additional protection for customers' funds...
Farm leaders hopeful EPA will relent on biofuels
Sen Debbie Stabenow and Rep Collin Peterson told NAAJ they were optimistic the administration will set a higher mandate for biofuels consumption this year than it initially proposed.
Food stamps a target for House Ag leaders
The heat-and-eat "spat" could lead to Republican attempts to end the Low Income Energy Assistance Program and so-called categorical eligibility for food stamps, especially if the GOP gains control of the Senate...