The U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee plans to hold a series of Farm Bill hearings over the next two weeks to begin the process of receiving testimony that will assist the committing in drafting legislative language for the 2012 Farm Bill.

Background

The U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson recently held a hearing to discuss U.S. agriculture policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. The Farm Bill is major legislation that authorizes many government farm support, conservation, energy, trade, marketing, food assistance, and rural development programs over several years. The current farm bill, the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, was signed into law in 2008, and many of the provisions in that bill will expire in September 2012.

“This hearing is the first step in the process of writing the next Farm Bill. A bill this large and that covers so many important issues takes a lot of time and effort to get it right, and I am committed to a process that is open, transparent, and bipartisan,” said Chairman Peterson. “I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and from all regions of the country to be sure that we put together a bill that supports the food, fiber, conservation, energy and rural development needs of this country.” The House Agriculture Committee is planning on four additional hearings to further discuss preliminary recommendations on the 2012 Farm Bill.

Grange Policy

At the 143rd Annual Convention of the National Grange, the grassroots Grange delegates adopted the following general policy statement regarding the importance of maintaining a strong and viable national farm and agriculture policy that specifically recognizes the needs of both consumers as well as family farmers and ranchers in the United States:

“The National Grange believes that policies that promote a viable family farm structure in America’s agricultural sector are in the best interests of all citizens. We reaffirm our support for farm commodity programs that serve the best interests of producers and consumers. The purpose of the Federal Farm Program is to ensure Americans an adequate supply of safe and wholesome food, provide some income protection to the food producers and protect our environment by providing incentives for soil and water conservation. The National Grange supports programs that will stimulate interest and appreciation for an expanding agriculture industry that provides an abundant supply of reasonably priced food and fiber to meet our domestic needs and still export the products of one out of every three acres into the world markets. The National Grange continues to strongly support family farms as an integral and important contributor to a stable agricultural production and rural communi­ties. We call upon the President and Congress to support programs and policies that will help sustain and enhance family farms - by increas­ing the net farm income, providing economic and tax incentives, and credit and/or tax credits for soil and water conservation - without escalating the advantages to non-farm investors. “

The U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee hearing schedule and locations are as follows:  

To view USDA Vilsack’s written testimony on the Committee website CLICK HERE. A full transcript of the hearing will be posted on the Committee website at a later date. Live audio and video will be available at the start of the future farm bill hearings, and can be accessed at http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/audio.html.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this Action Alert, please contact Legislative Program Assistant Molly Thompson by e-mail: mthompson@nationalgrange.org, or by phone: 1-888-4GRANGE, Ext. 107. Thank you for your grassroots participation in the National Grange Legislative Program.