News Center

ICYMI: In Defense of the Farm Bureau

ICYMIBy Farm Policy FactsMay 31, 2016Leave a comment

Earlier this month, Heritage Action CEO, Michael Needham, wrote an op-ed playing their old song that trashes farmers and farm policy that was published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. This time, in an incredible act of duplicity, Needham tried to portray the Arkansas Farm Bureau, a grassroots organization if there ever was one, of being part of “the establishment” in Washington, D.C. Friend of Farm Policy Facts and Former Congressman Larry Combest wrote a response in kind to set the record straight as to who is the real Washington insider.

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Our View: With a Depressed Farm Economy, America’s Agricultural Producers Should Be Able to Count on the Farm Safety Net

Our ViewBy Farm Policy FactsMay 17, 2016Leave a comment

Farmers like to call themselves the eternal optimists, but these real world conditions that Chairman Conaway and others have described have provided plenty of reasons to keep them up at night. The ability to count on farm policy to get them through a tough year or more shouldn’t be one of them.

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New Public Opinion Polls Shows Strong Support for Farmers and Farm Policy

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsMay 11, 2016Leave a comment

In an election year that has seen sharp divides among candidates and voters on the major issues of the day, there is one policy area that is receiving widespread, bipartisan support: farm policy and crop insurance.

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Rep. Costa: Crop Insurance is Vital Component to U.S. Agriculture Industry

Guest VoicesBy Farm Policy FactsApril 28, 2016Leave a comment

Farm Policy Facts is pleased to publish a guest editorial from Rep. Jim Costa on the importance of maintaining a strong safety net for farmers.

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EWG Still Using Old Data & Misleading Tactics to Generate Anti-Farmer Headlines

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsApril 27, 2016Leave a comment

Last week, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) sent out a report with this headline: “The Rich Get Richer: 50 Billionaires Got Federal Farm Subsidies.” The piece was meant to draw attention to the “problem” of well-known billionaires and celebrities pocketing farm subsidies. The only problem is, there isn’t a problem.

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For Agriculture, Every Day is Earth Day

Guest VoicesBy Farm Policy FactsApril 22, 2016Leave a comment

On this Earth Day, we are pleased to publish an editorial from the chairmen of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees celebrating the efforts of America’s farmers and ranchers in protecting our natural resources.

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New Study Shows the Sweet Truth in Classic Farm Policy Debate

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsApril 19, 2016Leave a comment

Circulating half-truths and misinformation is how agriculture’s opponents have operated for decades, and they’re not about to let pesky things like facts and expert analysis get in the way.

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Krysta Harden: Diversifying Agriculture’s Workforce

Guest VoicesBy Farm Policy FactsMarch 31, 2016Leave a comment

Farm Policy Facts is proud to publish a guest editorial from Krysta Harden, the former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

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A Wide Array of Voices Rally in Defense of the Farm Bill

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsMarch 18, 2016Leave a comment

It is not every day that there is widespread agreement in our nation’s Capitol, especially when it comes to budget matters. So, it is significant to highlight when such accord is demonstrably on display.

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ICYMI: Crop Insurance is Critical for Beginning Farmers

ICYMIBy Farm Policy FactsMarch 1, 2016Leave a comment

“As Congress and the White House wrestle with their respective budgets in the coming weeks, I hope good sense will prevail and they’ll leave crop insurance and farm policy alone.”

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Rep. Lucas: A Tradition of Service and Leadership

Guest VoicesBy Farm Policy FactsFebruary 22, 2016Leave a comment

Congressman Frank Lucas discusses how Future Farmers of America is growing the next generation of leaders, and how his membership in the local chapter as a young person helped shape and inspire a life of public service.

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New Survey Demonstrates Crop Insurance Support Strong Among Farmers

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsFebruary 20, 2016Leave a comment

A new survey demonstrates a strong level of support for crop insurance among farmers growing a diverse set of crops across the country, and opposition to any legislative proposals that weaken this important risk management tool.

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Shining A Light on Women in Agriculture One Photo at a Time

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsFebruary 17, 2016Leave a comment

“Where are the women?” was not an existential question Marji Guyler-Alaniz asked herself one day after leaving her corporate job of 11 years. Rather it was a realization that the imagery – and perhaps even the perception – of the American farmer needed an update.

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American Presidents on the Importance of Agriculture

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsFebruary 15, 2016Leave a comment

On this President’s Day, Farm Policy Facts combed through a bit of presidential history to find the words and views of some of our past leaders on the importance of American agriculture.

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Pulling Back the Curtain on EWG’s Playbook

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsFebruary 10, 2016Leave a comment

It is easier to sell fear than facts. This is a concept that the Environmental Working Group (EWG) knows all too well and has built a brand and an empire based on that business model. But, people are catching on to that game.

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I Choose American Workers Over Foreign Cheaters

Guest VoicesBy Farm Policy FactsJanuary 20, 2016Leave a comment

To dismantle U.S. sugar policy without concessions from foreign governments only puts America at a distinct disadvantage. Farm Policy Facts agrees wholeheartedly with Rep. Yoho: we stand with American workers over foreign cheaters.

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ICYMI: Kansas Ag Leader Urges Secretary to Designate Cottonseed as an Oilseed

ICYMIBy Farm Policy FactsJanuary 15, 2016Leave a comment

If cotton production leaves our state and local communities, the infrastructure of cotton gins, warehouses and associated businesses will go with it, and history tells us it will not return.

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Our View: Nairobi Sets Stage for 2016 Foreign Subsidy Focus

Our ViewBy Farm Policy FactsJanuary 15, 2016Leave a comment

Narobi is a good first step that publicized some of the schemes America’s competitors use to manipulate markets, and it proved that global reforms are possible.

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2015: A Year in Review with Farm Policy Facts

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsDecember 30, 2015Leave a comment

From continued attacks on the farm safety net in Washington to a sour farm economy, Farm Policy Facts takes a look at the top agriculture stories of 2015.

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Video Aims to Combat Misrepresentations of Farm Policy

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsDecember 22, 2015Leave a comment

The National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) recently released a new educational video to illustrate how Americans benefit from crop insurance and to push back on the tactics of farm policy opponents who try to misrepresent the facts surrounding crop insurance and other important facets of U.S. farm policy.

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Pressure Builds for USDA to Act to Help U.S. Cotton Farmers

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsDecember 17, 2015Leave a comment

In the midst of dire economic conditions, U.S. cotton farmers can find encouragement from a growing chorus of support for a proposal to help mitigate their current financial struggles.

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Farmers Contend with Sour Farm Economy, Weak Exports and Ag Policy Critics

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsDecember 9, 2015Leave a comment

To be clear, farmers aren’t asking for a headline or a pat on the back. They’re asking for a fair shake when disasters strike and the ability to compete on a global stage. Honestly, it’s the least we can do for the folks who provide the nation with food and fiber.

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#ICYMI: Insurance on crops boosts farms of all sizes

ICYMIBy Farm Policy FactsDecember 1, 2015Leave a comment

Now is the time to protect the one thing beginning farmers and their bankers can count on.

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#ICYMI: Crop Insurance Helps Farmers and Ag Lenders Manage Risk

ICYMIBy Farm Policy FactsNovember 27, 2015Leave a comment

It is a fact that strong farm policy and support for crop insurance goes beyond the farmer, not only benefitting rural America but consumers as well.

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Strong Ag Sector is Critical for National Defense

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsNovember 25, 2015Leave a comment

As President George W. Bush once said, “A nation that can feed its people is a nation more secure.” But, the reality is, the more we chip away at the investment in our national food and fiber supply, the more vulnerable we become.

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ICYMI: History Demonstrates the Importance of a Farm Safety Net

ICYMIBy Farm Policy FactsNovember 20, 2015Leave a comment

If my family had kept the farm, I would have been a fourth-generation farmer of a grain operation. But they couldn’t.

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Rural America Reminds Lawmakers to Keep Their Promise to Protect Crop Insurance from Cuts in Spending Bill

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsNovember 20, 2015Leave a comment

“It ain’t over till it’s over,” said the great Yogi Berra. He was referring to the New York Mets’ season in 1973, but the sentiment could easily describe the fight to stave off cuts to federal crop insurance this year.

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Don’t Keep Farmers Waiting on Tax Certainty

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsNovember 18, 2015Leave a comment

Rather than stack the deck against agriculture, let’s ensure farmers and ranchers have the tools they need to feed the world.

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ICYMI: Don’t Squeeze Farmers to Balance the Budget

ICYMIBy Farm Policy FactsNovember 9, 2015Leave a comment

The United States should stop trying to balance its budget on the backs of farmers. It is bad policy, and there’s no room for further reductions.

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Our View: An Attack On One Farmer’s Policy Is An Attack Upon All

Our ViewBy Farm Policy FactsNovember 4, 2015Leave a comment

The Farm Bill is needed now more than ever, and no thinly veiled plot by anti-farmer forces to pry open the Farm Bill is acceptable. An attack on one farmer’s policy is an attack upon all as far as we are concerned.

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ICYMI: ‘Agriculture, as whole, rose up and said enough is enough’

ICYMIBy Farm Policy FactsOctober 30, 2015Leave a comment

“Agriculture, as a whole, rose up and said enough is enough,” said Steve Verett, the Executive Vice President of the Plains Cotton Growers.

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ICYMI: How the budget deal harms farmers, costs jobs and kills crop insurance

ICYMIBy Farm Policy FactsOctober 28, 2015Leave a comment

As Congress prepares to vote on a budget agreement that includes cuts to a key component of the farm safety net, Larry Combest, the former chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and the Select Committee on Intelligence, makes clear to lawmakers what is at stake if it comes to pass.

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Our View: Farmers Deserve Better

Our ViewBy Farm Policy FactsOctober 27, 2015Leave a comment

Without any consultation with America’s farmers, or apparently even elected leaders from rural America, a handful of lawmakers fast-tracked a new budget proposal that would decimate crop insurance.

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U.S. Farm Policy Helps Farmers Fight Bad Actors on the World Stage

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsOctober 23, 2015Leave a comment

The full-scale reality of what American farmers are up against when it comes to competing with foreign treasuries rather than foreign farmers was the topic of a hearing at the House Committee on Agriculture this week.

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Texas Conservation Project Helps Farmers Manage Finite Water Resources

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsOctober 21, 2015Leave a comment

“2011 was a game changer. It altered the lives of all of us in production agriculture,” explained Rick Kellison, the project director of the Texas Alliance for Water Conservation (TAWC), during a farm tour near Lubbock, Texas where the Southwest Council of Agribusiness (SWCA) convened its annual meeting last week.

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Ag Outlook Underscores Importance of Capital, Strong Farm Policy

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsOctober 16, 2015Leave a comment

The next few years very well may be defining for the future outlook of agriculture. And the whole world has a lot riding on the outcome.

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Rep. Benishek: Farms are the Backbone of our Economy & Country

Guest VoicesBy Farm Policy FactsOctober 9, 2015Leave a comment

Protecting our farms is good economic policy and it is critical to the health and safety of our nation. As the proud representative of the First District of Michigan, I will do everything I can to ensure that my farmers have a voice in the decisions made in Washington.

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U.S. Crop Insurance Gets International Spotlight

NewsBy Farm Policy FactsOctober 2, 2015Leave a comment

The importance of crop insurance to meet the needs of a growing world population took center stage this week in Kansas City as agricultural leaders from more than 30 countries gathered for the International Association of Agricultural Production Insurers (AIAG) to learn more about the American system.

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#ICYMI: Crop Insurance Literally Saved My Mississippi Farm

ICYMIBy Farm Policy FactsSeptember 18, 2015Leave a comment

As a fourth generation Mississippi farmer, I grew up knowing that I worked in a field full of risks. When the weather cooperates, prices dive. When prices are great, foreign markets collapse, sending prices into a sudden nosedive. It’s always something. However, it wasn’t until I actually set out on my own in farming in 2011 that I fully understood just how financially exposed farmers are when they put a crop in the ground.

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Foreign Ag Support Programs Put American Farmers at a Competitive Disadvantage

Current Farm Policy, NewsBy Farm Policy FactsSeptember 15, 2015Leave a comment

American wheat farmers lose close to $1 billion in revenue each year because certain countries are violating trade rules under the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, according to a new study.

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