Ag Secretary to Roll out Farm Bill & Legislative Principles in Pennsylvania

(Wisconsin State Farmer) U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will be in Pennsylvania Wednesday, Jan. 24 to roll out the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Bill and legislative principles for 2018. READ MORE

Excerpts from Successful Farming: The list of principles did not mention President Trump’s proposals for massive cuts to both federally subsidized crop insurance and food stamps, the country’s largest anti-hunger program. Nor did it take sides on suggestions by environmentalists that in exchange for federal support, farmers should be required to do more to prevent soil erosion and protect water quality.

The administration also proposed a 36% cut in crop insurance, including the end of premium subsidies for the so-called harvest price option, which has been criticized as a windfall for farmers. Crop insurance, worth nearly $8 billion a year, is the largest USDA farm support.

The House defeated a farm bill for the first time ever in 2013 when conservative Republicans insisted on the largest cuts in food stamps in a generation. READ MORE

Excerpts from Kokomo Tribune: The new farm bill will be especially constrained by passage of the GOP tax plan, and by concerns about the size of the federal budget deficit. Farm bill proponents will have to work even harder to underscore the ways in which it affects everyone living in the United States.

Other nutrition provisions in the bill help senior citizens buy goods at farmers’ markets and make fresh fruits and vegetables more readily available to millions of school children. It is easy to see why farm and nutrition advocates historically have worked together to support passage of the farm bill in an alliance that joins rural and urban interests.

Just 15 percent of America’s population lives in rural areas, but as the bumper sticker reminds us, “No farms, no food.”

Farmers, with the assistance of the farm bill, can improve soil quality and preserve habitat for wildlife. The farm bill funds voluntary conservation programs that currently are helping more than 500,000 farmers and ranchers conserve soil and improve air and water quality — actions that benefit all Americans.

Producing renewable energy is an important tool for expanding economic opportunity in rural areas. USDA’s Renewable Energy for America Program has helped finance over 12,000 projects.

With legislation like this that affects so many different constituencies, a key challenge is to recognize that multiple interests are at stake and try to avoid pitting groups against one another unnecessarily. If differences become too divisive, the risk of not passing a farm bill grows.

Unfortunately, most people are unaware of the farm bill’s importance because they think it impacts only farmers. But it improves the lives of all Americans — and Congress and the president need to provide the necessary level of investment to do that. READ MORE

Excerpts from Politico's Morning Energy: Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is in Pennsylvania today to roll out the administration's priorities for the next farm bill, and among those paying attention will be drinking water utilities. After several high-profile instances of farm runoff fouling drinking water supplies, including the harmful algal bloom on Lake Erie that shut off the city of Toledo's drinking water for three days in 2014, water utilities want to be part of the conversation. The American Water Works Association, which represents drinking water utilities, is pushing for robust conservation funding in the next farm bill with a special emphasis placed on protecting waters that serve as drinking water sources. See the group's new animated whiteboard here. READ MORE