Farmers

Murray worked to include funding that will benefit farmers and consumers, give Washington state's highest employing industry a competitive economic edge

October 8, 2009 -- (Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) announced that the millions of dollars in federal funding she included for Washington state agriculture research priorities in the 2010 Senate Agriculture Appropriations has been passed by both houses of Congress and is expected to be signed into law.

This funding will support ongoing research for a wide range of Washington agricultural goods, including legumes, potatoes, wine grapes, organic foods, and berries. The final version passed the Senate today by a vote of 76-22.    » read more »

Kohl and Obey worked to include measure in bill that funds USDA

10/8/09 -- WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Senate today voted to send the FY2010 Agriculture Appropriations Bill, which contains $350 million in additional assistance for dairy farmers championed by Senator Herb Kohl and Wisconsin Congressman Dave Obey, to the President for his signature.

Kohl is the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations panel, with the responsibility of winning Congressional support for the annual funding measure. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives yesterday.    » read more »

Bill expands role of GF Nutrition Center, supports other research to help farmers and ranchers

October 9, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- The United States Congress has given final approval to an appropriations bill that includes investments secured by U.S. Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad and Congressman Earl Pomeroy in North Dakota’s agriculture research industry. These critical agriculture and nutrition research projects will give a boost to the state’s economy and help develop new ways for family farmers and ranchers to fight pests and address other problems.    » read more »

October 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), chairman of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Food, Nutrition, and Family Farms, announced that Agriculture Appropriations Act of 2010 includes $350 million in emergency support for our nation’s dairy industry.

“The dairy sector plays a key role in the economic vitality and success of Ohio’s small towns and rural communities,” Brown said. “It’s imperative Ohio dairy farmers have the support they need to withstand this time of high production costs and plummeting farm-level prices.”    » read more »

October 7, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, DC) -- Congressman Steve Kagen, M.D. is protecting Wisconsin’s dairy industry and our farm families. Kagen played an active role in shaping the Conference Report on the Agriculture Appropriations Bill which passed today. This bill includes aid to dairy farmers.

“This will get money directly into the pockets of our dairy farmers,” said Kagen. “Many of our farms are family-owned small businesses. This will help these families during these uncertain economic times. As we take action to put our economy on the road to recovery, I am working hard to sustain the industries that are the backbone of our communities in Northeast Wisconsin.”    » read more »

October 7, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) is working to help North Dakota dairy farmers cope with the nationwide fall in dairy prices.

Last week, Senator Dorgan was a part of a conference of House and Senate negotiators that finalized the FY 2010 Agriculture Appropriations bill, and helped secure $350 million in emergency aid to help dairy farmers across the nation. The assistance includes $290 million to help dairy farmers directly, and $60 million to buy cheese products to donate to food banks.

In addition, Senator Dorgan is supporting legislation that would close a loophole that allows foreign dairy exporters to circumvent trade rules and flood the market with excess dairy products.    » read more »

BOSTON – Monday, October 05, 2009 – Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick today announced that United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack has granted the Commonwealth’s request for federal disaster relief in 12 Massachusetts counties that suffered agricultural production losses due to this summer’s abnormally cool and rainy weather.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the number of farmers markets in the United States is up more than 13 percent from a year ago. A recent update of the online Farmers Market Directory lists 5,274 markets nationwide, up from 4,685 reported in 2008.

"Farmers markets assure that consumers have easier access to local fruits and vegetables and this growth demonstrates incredible interest consumers have in purchasing from local producers," said Vilsack. "Farmers market also connects the community to the local farmers who produce the fresh food, and play an important role in the direct marketing of produce to local consumers."    » read more »

WASHINGTON, September 30 – Senate and House negotiators have agreed to provide $350 million for hard-pressed dairy farmers, Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced today. The funding was first included in a Sanders amendment to the Department of Agriculture appropriations bill.    » read more »

9/30/09 -- WASHINGTON, DC – After weeks of negotiations, U.S. Senator Herb Kohl and Congressman Dave Obey successfully retained $350 million in additional assistance for dairy farmers as part of the House-Senate compromise version of the FY2010 Agriculture Appropriations Bill.

Kohl, who is chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations panel, was the lead Senate negotiator and pushed to preserve the funds which originated in the Senate bill. Obey, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, was instrumental in securing the consent of House conferees.    » read more »

Dairy is Critical Industry for NM; State Ranks 7th in Dairy Production

September 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) today joined a half-dozen of his Senate colleagues at a press conference on Capitol Hill to express his support of the nation's struggling dairy farmers. Click here for photos of the event.

Dairy farmers in New Mexico and across the country are experiencing a financial crisis due to massive drops in the prices of dairy products. Over the last year, dairy prices have dropped as much as 40 percent from record highs – and 17 percent to 19 percent below the 10-year average. By contrast, feed prices over that same period decreased by only 8 percent.    » read more »

September 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, September 15 - The National Farmers Union and U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Robert Casey, Jr. (D-Pa.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.); Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) today backed legislation to support dairy farmers.

The Senate in August passed Sanders' amendment to the agriculture appropriations bill to provide an extra $350 million for milk price supports and to increase government purchases of surplus dairy products.    » read more »

9/15/09 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Herb Kohl sent the following letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, at the United States Department of Agriculture and Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney at the Department of Justice Antitrust Division. He calls on them to scrutinize antitrust enforcement in the dairy industry, focusing on the consolidation of milk processors and anticompetitive practices in agriculture and urges them to hold a workshop on diary in Wisconsin, as part of upcoming series of DOJ/USDA workshops about agriculture competition.    » read more »

Says Minnesota's dairy farmers face dire conditions

September 15, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – Speaking at an event outside the U.S. Capitol, Senator Amy Klobuchar highlighted the plight of dairy farmers in Minnesota and around the nation, saying that more must be done to alleviate the crisis. Klobuchar spoke about a farm she visited in Foley, Minnesota over the weekend, recounting a story about how tough the market has made it for the young farmer to make ends meet.    » read more »

Declaration Makes Assistance Available for Farmers in All 10 NH Counties

September 14, 2009 -- CONCORD - New Hampshire Governor John Lynch today announced the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has declared a disaster designation for all 10 New Hampshire counties due to losses suffered by local farmers caused by heavy rains this summer. With the declaration, New Hampshire farmers will be able to access federal assistance, including emergency loans.

Gov. Lynch requested the disaster declaration in a letter he sent to Secretary Vilsack last month    » read more »