The US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry will meet at 10:00am on Tuesday, May 14 to consider the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013 (the 2013 Farm Bill). On May 9 Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (MI) released the Chairwoman's Mark. To view the text or a summary please visit here - http://www.ag.senate.gov/issues/farm-bill
House Farm Bill
On May 15 The US House Committee on Agriculture will hold a hearing at 10:00 a.m. to consider the 2013 Farm Bill. On May 10 Chairman Frank Lucas of Oklahoma and Ranking Member Collin Peterson of Minnesota released a discussion draft of the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act of 2013. The draft and a summary can be viewed here - http://agriculture.house.gov/farmbill.
On Tuesday, April 16, 2013 the US House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies held a budget hearing addressing the “Department of Agriculture.” For details visit here. The link includes the option for viewing the video recording, testimony and opening statement.
Witnesses included: The Honorable Thomas Vilsack (Secretary, Department of Agriculture), Dr. Joseph Glauber (Chief Economist, Department of Agriculture), Mr. Michael Young, (Budget Officer, Department of Agriculture).
On Wednesday, April 17, 2013 10:00 AM in 2362-A Rayburn the US House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies will hold a budget hearing addressing the “Department of Agriculture Research, Education, and Economics.” For details visit here.
Witnesses include: Dr. Catherine E. Woteki (Under Secretary, Research Education and Economics, Department of Agriculture), Dr. Edward B. Knipling (Administrator, Agriculture Research Service, Department of Agriculture), Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy (Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Department of Agriculture), Dr. Mary Bohman, (Administrator, Economic Research Service, Department of Agriculture), Dr. Cynthia Clark, (Administrator, National Agriculture Statistics Service, Department of Agriculture), Mr. Michael Young, (Budget Officer, Department of Agriculture).
On July 5, 2012, Chairman Frank Lucas of Oklahoma and Ranking Member Collin Peterson of Minnesota released a discussion draft of the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM) today. The text of the bill can be found at this link. The House Agriculture Committee will consider the legislation during a business meeting scheduled for Wednesday, July 11. A summary of the legislation can be found at this link.
With the passage of the Senate farm bill, Stephanie Mercier, former chief economist for the Senate Agriculture Committee, has provided AGree with a brief update which contains background on the budget process, details about the Senate and House versions of the bill, and prospects for completing the 2012 farm bill.
The brief can be found on the AGree website at the following link.
Dr. Carl Zulauf (The Ohio State University) provided an update through farmdoc Daily that reflects the debate by the entire U.S. Senate on the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012, the Senate's 2012 Farm Bill. The article's focus is amendments related to the crop safety net. An overview of the crop safety net in the Senate farm bill and obsevrations on the Bill as passed by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Continue reading at:
http://www.farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2012/07/update_on_the_us_senate_versio.html
On March 29, U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) Chairwoman of the Committee, introduced legislation to establish a foundation to solicit private donations to enhance research for the most pressing challenge facing U.S. agriculture.
The bill, The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), authorizes the establishment of a 501(c) 3, a non-profit organization, and includes provisions outlining the duties and structure of the foundation, including an appointed Board of Directors representing the diverse sectors of agriculture. It also requires annual financial audits and good governance procedures for increased accountability and transparency. This model serves as a useful tool to foster new public-private partnerships among the agricultural research community, including USDA research agencies, academia, private corporations, and non-profit organizations.
There are precedents for congressionally mandated foundations across the federal government, including entities devoted to medical research, public health and safety and natural resource conservation. Some examples include: Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the National Forest Foundation.
Text of the bill can be found here.
Today the President released his FY 2013 Budget Proposal. Information on USDA can be viewed here - http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2013/assets/agriculture.pdf. Language related to USDA AFRI:
“Increases the 2012 funding level for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative to $325 million and targets areas that are key to American scientific leadership: human nutrition and obesity reduction; food safety; sustainable bioenergy; global food security; and climate change.”
From the Hagstrom Report 2/6/2012 – “The Agriculture Department, the primary source of U.S. crop and livestock data, will move analysts from state offices into nine National Agricultural Statistics Service regional centers in an effort to provide more in-depth analysis while saving money, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture today, according to a Reuters report.
The centers, due to open in 2013, are the latest change in USDA reporting as the agency adjusts to federal budget cuts.
“We’re going to remain the gold standard,” said Vilsack in announcing the regional centers, according to the Reuters report.
The secretary said the move “will give us the opportunity to dive more deeply into data” and provide more accurate data.
Congress allotted $158.6 million for the National Agricultural Statistics Service this fiscal year, $7 million less than USDA requested but a 1 percent increase from the previous year, when funding was cut by 3 percent in an effort to reduce the federal deficit, Reuters said.
AGree, an initiative designed to transform long-term agricultural, food and rural policy issues, has released a new report, “Review of U.S. Farm Programs,” that provides a comprehensive overview of federal farm programs (farm support, disaster assistance, insurance, specialty crop and conservation programs), including historical background and information about the distribution of benefits. It is the first in a series of backgrounders the initiative is publishing to lay the groundwork for common understanding in discussions across diverse stakeholders on the future of food and agriculture policy. The report was authored by Stephanie Mercier, former chief economist for the Senate Agriculture Committee, and does not necessarily represent the views of AGree, the initiative said. AGree commissioned the report in an effort to provide context for discussions on the complex issue of U.S. farm support policy, a hot topic of the current debate on the federal agriculture budget and the Farm Bill. Beginning at the onset of farm support in America, the report covers how the U.S. arrived at its current policy nearly 80 years later, noting, “Policy makers have not moved very far from their original rationale, even though the structure and composition of U.S. agriculture has changed considerably.” AGree has also posted webcasts of Mercier presenting a PowerPoint slide summary of the report and a PowerPoint slide overview of federal agriculture spending. The report and webcasts can be found on AGree’s website at: http://www.foodandagpolicy.org/policy/introduction.
