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Rep. Bob Gibbs gets reacquainted with Northeast Ohio roots as area congressman
The red tape and glacial pace of the legislative process in Washington irritate the two-term Republican congressman, a Bay Village native who spent three decades as a Holmes County hog farmer before becoming an Ohio legislator and a U.S. House of Representatives member.
Sen. Sherrod Brown says lawmakers who take farm subsidies would cut food stamps
Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, finds it disconcerting that some of the lawmakers who gladly take the government’s subsidies want to cut SNAP, or subsidies to people who need help buying groceries.
Senate farm bill stall will be felt across Capitol
The Senate’s farm bill cloture vote Thursday morning poses a critical test for the Agriculture Committee leadership, which needs a strong showing to clear the way for passage Monday and begin to heal the breach sparked by revisions in the commodity title.
Seven farm bill fights to watch
House members will need to resolve a slew if fights over amendments to approve a five-year $939 billion farm bill by Thursday.
Here are some of the biggest battles to expect.
Strange bedfellows are opposing the farm bill
Subsidies -- for both needy families and less-needy corporate interests -- have drawn opponents as diverse as the Koch brothers and the Environmental Working Group.
The Farm Worker Shortage
In 2010, farmers reported more than $320 million in losses because they didn't get the workers they needed. Illegal workers fill most of the gap, but increasingly the bigger companies are moving production to Latin America.
Top two at Eastern Livestock Co. sentenced to federal prison
Founder and former owner, Thomas P. Gibson, 73, of Lanesville, Ind., was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and former Chief Operating Officer Michael Steven McDonald, 61, of Lanesville, Ind., was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
U.S. wheat output dropped
Informa pegged U.S. production of hard red winter wheat at 778 million bushels, 2.5% below the firm's May estimate, but 9.6 million above the U.S. Department of Agriculture's May forecast. Hard red winter wheat yields are forecast to average 36.9 bushels per acre, 3.8 bushels per acre below last year.
USDA says they can’t locate any more genetically engineered wheat in Oregon
In April, an Oregon farmer discovered and reported a small number of volunteer wheat plants that were glyphosate-resistant
USDA Trade Mission Aims to Create Opportunities for U.S. Agriculture in Turkey
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Michael Scuse is leading a mission to promote U.S. agricultural exports to Turkey, this week. Representatives from Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania, as well as 20 U.S. companies are participating.
Vilsack: Agriculture must adapt to climate change
But he called the threat of a changing climate “much different than anything we’ve ever tackled” and warned that without more drastic changes, the accelerating pace and intensity of global warming during the next few decades might soon begin to significantly affect agriculture.
Weekly Cornbelt Crop Update
The northwest Ohio and southern Michigan regions have had one of their best springs in quite a while. The crop continues to thrive, and they are “okay” for moisture today. They certainly won’t turn down a rain, but it is really hard to find a complaint with this crop. The only possible risk is that the majority of their corn crop all went in within a 5 day window.
Wells Fargo picks Charlotte to plant agriculture hub
Some of the satellite sites serving the hub could be in Florida, New York, Ohio or Pennsylvania, the bank said, although nothing official has been announced.
White House threatens to veto House version of farm bill
The White House is threatening to veto the House version of a five-year farm bill, saying that its proposed cuts to the food stamp program will leave some Americans hungry.