Farmers to Congress: Keep ag safety nets, nutrition in farm bill
Eleven
That advice? Rethink proposed cuts to crop insurance. Keep nutrition programs funded and part of the farm bill. And keep improving trade opportunities with other countries.
"The farm bill is about risk management tools, a safety net for finances," said
Members of the
Farmers say those insurance programs are vital to protecting younger farmers and ensuring risk management.
"All I can say is please protect it," said
Dairy farmers in particular say changes to previous programs has created complications for their operations. The 2014 farm bill created a Margin Protection Program, which was supposed to help offset feed prices compared to milk prices if the margin was less than
Yet farmers also are looking outside agricultural concerns to broader
"It's very difficult to find people to work," said
Aside from ag concerns, the farm bill is also largely responsible for
Rep.
"We know that food security for the hungry at the expense of economic security for the men and women who grow the food in the first place is a false choice," Piper said.
Conaway and Minnesota Rep.
It remains to be seen whether the committee will have to deal with proposed cuts to the farm bill, however. Conaway said he'd wait and see how 2018 budget negotiations between the
"I don't want to pick a fight with anybody that I don't have to have," he said. "If the
Walz said he supports the committee's aggressive timeline. The
"I think it'll be a challenge, but I think all of us know how important it is," he said.
___
(c)2017 The Free Press (Mankato, Minn.)
Visit The Free Press (Mankato, Minn.) at www.mankatofreepress.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Goliad driver wins $200K settlement from insurance company
Rounds aims for both health care, tax reform by 2018
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News