Speaker of the House John Boehner says he would vote for the House Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM) of 2013, but intends to try and change the dairy provisions. “I’ve got concerns about the farm bill, as I told our members,” Boehner said during the Republican Leadership press conference Wednesday. “But doing nothing means that we get … Read More
Farm Bill Now up to House
The Senate passed the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013 by a vote of 66 to 27 on Monday evening, putting even more pressure on the House of Representatives to complete its work to get a bill to conference and passed by the end of summer. Representative Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), a member of the House agriculture committee, is … Read More
House Ag Committee Supports DSA in Farm Bill
The House Agriculture Committee came out in support of the Dairy Security Act (DSA) on Wednesday, voting to reject an amendment by Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and David Scott (D-GA) to remove the supply management mechanism of the act. “Supply management is antithetical to the future growth of the dairy industry,” Goodlatte and Scott said in a statement expressing their … Read More
Ag Secretary Sees Dairy as Challenge in Farm Bill
The Senate Agriculture Committee voted 15-5 today to approve the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013, which includes the Dairy Security Act. The House Agriculture Committee will take up their version of the bill on Wednesday, where an alternative plan to the DSA will be proposed. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told farm broadcasters meeting in Washington on Tuesday … Read More
Minn. Milk Offers Support
The leadership at Minnesota Milk Producers Association has voted unanimously to support a six-month window between the deadline for making the annual signup decision and the beginning of a coverage period for any margin insurance program to be included in the Farm Bill. “We are looking for the best policy to provide catastrophic risk insurance for dairy farmers and encourage … Read More
Raw milk law amendment would not ‘mitigate’ dangers
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rejected a petition that sought an exception to the current ban on the inter-state sale of raw milk products – citing a lack of proof that the amendment would “adequately mitigate the dangers posed by raw milk.” Read entire article here. Source: Dairy Reporter
Status Quo Not Acceptable to National Milk
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) says “the status quo is not an acceptable outcome, either for farmers or taxpayers” and they will continue to push the 113th Congress for a five-year farm bill that includes the Dairy Security Act. NMPF Senior VP of Communications Chris Galen says the dairy security act that was part of the farm bill legislation … Read More
Some Dairy Interests Pleased with Farm Bill Extension
While the National Milk Producers Federation is very opposed to the farm bill extension included in the fiscal cliff deal, at least one other dairy group supports the extension. Officials with the Dairy Business Association (DBA) in Wisconsin say they are “extremely pleased” with the extension because they are opposed to the program that was included in the Senate version … Read More
Dairy Forces Senate to Add Farm Bill Extension
The fiscal cliff compromise passed by the Senate in the wee hours of New Year’s Day morning only included a farm bill extension because of the so-called “dairy cliff” – but few are pleased with the concept. “I am pleased that the final agreement also includes an extension of the 2008 Farm Bill through the end of September 2013,” said … Read More
Census of Agriculture to Survey Producers, including Dairy
This year was a pretty tumultuous one for many dairy producers across the country, especially with the way the drought impacted many operations. The USDA needs to get more information so it knows what’s happening on America’s farms. That’s why the 2012 Census of Agriculture forms will be hitting producers’ mailboxes very soon. “The Census of Agriculture will be dropped … Read More