Federal

From the Capital Press Agricultural leaders are lauding passage of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2017, which they say fully funds wildfire suppression and assistance to rural counties heavy in federal lands while addressing recent examples of what they describe as government overreach. The $32.1 billion spending bill is $1 billion less than President Barack ... Read More »

From NAWG Yesterday, the House passed the GMO labeling agreement designed by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, by a vote of 306-117. The Senate passed the bill last Thursday by a vote of 63 to 30, advancing the agreement on to the House this week, and now the bill will be on the President’s ... Read More »

From Agri-Pulse The Senate easily approved an historic compromise on GMO disclosure standards late Thursday, setting up final action in the House to shut down Vermont’s week-old labeling mandate. Industry groups are lobbying House leaders to allow a vote on the bill next week before lawmakers break for the national party conventions and their August recess. A House vote is needed before ... Read More »

From NAWG Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow have released a long-awaited GMO labeling agreement. The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) applauds the bipartisan efforts to secure a national standard that preempts a state-by-state patchwork, thereby avoiding a conflict of regulatory laws between states. NAWG supports their proposed bill, which allows for a variety of ... Read More »

From the National Association of Wheat Growers The U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Interior (DOI) yesterday announced more than $47 million in funding to help water districts and producers on private working lands better conserve water resources. The funds include $15 million in USDA funds and $32.6 million from the Bureau of Reclamation for local projects to improve water and energy efficiency ... Read More »

From Agri-Pulse A landmark Senate agreement on national disclosure standards for genetically engineered foods would allow companies to disclose GMO ingredients through digital codes rather than on-package language or symbols. The agreement, reached between Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and ranking Democrat Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, also would use a narrow definition of genetic engineering that would exempt the ... Read More »

By Trista Crossley Battle scars from the last farm bill debate have just barely faded, but according to industry representatives, it’s already time for agriculture to start thinking about the next farm bill, due in 2018. “It didn’t seem like agriculture had a loud enough voice in negotiations on the last farm bill,” explained Michelle Hennings, executive director of the ... Read More »

By Josh Tonsager Legislative Director, National Association of Wheat Growers Congressional action this year on policy priorities important to wheat farmers has taken some unexpected turns, and the outlook for the legislative process is unclear. By now, this should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been following Congress the past several years. What should come as a ... Read More »

From Agri-Pulse A spending bill that included a rider to stop the Obama administration from implementing its “waters of the U.S.” rule failed in the House after conservatives bolted over an amendment that was adopted to protect LGBT rights. The defeat of the bill threw in doubt the open amendment process that the GOP leadership was using to debate appropriations ... Read More »

The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) has selected Chandler Goule as it’s new chief executive officer, replacing Jim Palmer who stepped down to spend more time with his family on his Missouri farm. Goule will assume his responsibilities on July 5. Most recently, Goule served as senior vice president of programs at the National Farmers Union (NFU) where he ... Read More »