Federal

The National Association of Wheat Growers joined the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and more than 300 agricultural organizations to call on Congress to invest $11.5 billion in the federal agricultural research infrastructure at colleges of agriculture. In the letter to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate agriculture committees, the groups wrote, “Modern agricultural research ... Read More »

From the National Association of Wheat Growers Last night, Pres. Joseph Biden delivered his remarks before a Joint Session of Congress. National Association of Wheat growers (NAWG) CEO Chandler Goule provided the following statement in response: “While the president addressed many issues of importance to the American people, we are eager to hear more about agricultural-related policies, specifically how we ... Read More »

From Progressive Farmer While Senate Democrats are confident about the ability to get a bipartisan agricultural climate bill passed, the rift remains with Republicans over USDA’s authority to spend money on a carbon sequestration program without getting approval from Congress first. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

Climate legislation is happening at all levels of government. In the last few weeks, multiple leaders in Congress have introduced legislation to address the issue. The first piece of legislation, the Conservation and Innovative Climate Partnership Act, was introduced by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.). The legislation would establish a grant program to help producers adopt conservation and climate practices and ... Read More »

From the National Association of Wheat Growers Today, the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) launched their new Special Climate and Sustainability Committee. The committee will work together to review wheat sustainability issues and guide the development of NAWG policy priorities on climate  policy. “Wheat growers are having a positive impact on the environment and have increased resource-efficient practices in ... Read More »

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will open enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) with higher payment rates, new incentives and a more targeted focus on the program’s role in climate change mitigation. Additionally, USDA is announcing investments in partnerships to increase climate-smart agriculture, including $330 million in 85 Regional Conservation Partnership ... Read More »

The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) Chief Executive Officer, Chandler Goule, announced yesterday that Mariah Wollweber has been hired as the organization’s new Director of Communications and Partnerships, effective Monday, April 19, 2021. Wollweber is a fifth-generation wheat farmer from Washington state. Growing up in a farming family, she was able to see how policies and practices impacted the ... Read More »

From the Capital Press On Feb. 24 Tom Vilsack took the oath of office as the 32nd Secretary of Agriculture.It’s Vilsack’s second time as chief of the USDA. He previously served eight years in the same role in the Obama administration. Vilsack, 70, is also the former governor of Iowa, and most recently was president of the U.S. Dairy Export ... Read More »

From agdaily.com Defining estate tax regulations for farmers has been a hot topic this year. In an effort to preserve family farms for generations to come, Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN) introduced the bipartisan Preserving Family Farms Act. The legislation would help family-owned farms continue operations after a loved one has passed by easing the burden ... Read More »

Most of the wheat growers’ advocacy trips to Olympia and Washington, D.C., are a whirlwind of activity, hurrying from one appointment to another to fit in as many meetings as possible in just a couple of days. This year’s efforts involved a whole lot less walking but just as much advocacy. Since early March, the leaders and staff of the Washington ... Read More »