The American Farm Bureau Federation’s six-month campaign to oppose cap-and-trade climate change legislation, “Don’t CAP Our Future,” culminated Wednesday when farmer and rancher members from across the country presented key lawmakers with some of the 100,000 grassroots calls to action gathered in opposition to the issue.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Friday announced the purchase of $60 million in cheese and cheese products by the Commodity Credit Corporation for use in domestic feeding programs through USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service.
On Wednesday, a 10 percent cut in farm support programs was proposed by an 18-member bipartisan commission intent on balancing the federal budget. A vote by the commission on the overall plan, which encompasses the entire federal government, is expected Friday.
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A few of the soon-to-be newly elected members of the 112th Congress may be familiar with farm policy, but like the public-at-large, most of them likely are not. And even the agriculture committees that will write the next farm bill won’t be immune to these changes, according to Mark Maslyn...
REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio (Dec. 7, 2009) – Ohioans can start planning visits to fairs for the 2010 season as the Ohio Department of Agriculture today released the official dates for the state’s 94 county and independent fairs and the Ohio State Fair. The Paulding County Fair will kick off the 2010 fairs...
Maintaining a strong safety net for farmers, establishing a new direction for dairy policy, growing agricultural trade opportunities, regulatory oversight and reducing additional regulatory burdens, tax policy, food quality and safety, and energy and transportation issues are our top priorities.
Eliminating Ohio's Estate Tax, ensuring a sound business climate and low tax burden, addressing Ohio's state budget, transportation, energy, and environmental issues are among the top state legislative priorities for Ohio Farm Bureau in 2011.
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“Powerful” is a fitting description of Ohio Farm Bureau’s legislative successes in 2011. In a time when many advocacy organizations are fighting to remain relevant, farmers are working together through Farm Bureau to achieve impressive results at the Statehouse.
In 2012, Ohio Farm Bureau will focus on a new direction in the next farm bill, securing a new dairy safety net, regulatory oversight and reducing regulatory burdens, tax policy and budget, and food quality and safety.
In 2012, Ohio Farm Bureau will give attention to the State Capital Budget; business climate and taxes; growing an agriculture economy; animal care; energy and environment; Agricultural Education, Rural Schools and Workforce Development; and increasing grassroots political awareness and involvement.
The Ohio congressional delegation had been a relative sea of tranquility for a decade. Those waters began roil in 2006 and an even bigger wave of change hit in the 2008 election. The Buckeye State delegation was taken over by Democrats by a 10-8 margin; it had been 11-7 Republican.
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Don’t stand by while Ohio’s House of Representatives makes important decisions about programs that affect your farm, your community and your way of life. Now is the time to express your support for 4-H, water quality research, and workforce development initiatives...
American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman has appointed eight new committee members for two-year terms to the AFBF Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee. The YF&R program is composed of Farm Bureau members between the ages of 18 and 35. The program’s goal is to provide leadership...
Farm Bureau is urging the Senate to approve H.R. 2999, the Veterinary Public Health Workforce Amendments Act of 2010, that was passed last week by the House by voice vote. On Friday, American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)...
The American Farm Bureau Federation is partnering with the Agriculture Department’s National Agricultural Library to create the National Curriculum and Training Clearinghouse for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers. The new information-sharing program will help those who have decided to pursue...
Talk on Capitol Hill points to the House Agriculture Committee as a key hurdle to the massive climate change bill introduced by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.). The Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing on the bill Thursday afternoon, with AFBF President Bob Stallman...
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has given the Agriculture Committee and Ways and Means Committee authority to mark up the cap-and-trade bill crafted by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) that recently passed the Energy and Commerce Committee, but six other committees...
Agriculture is a bull’s-eye industry for a national energy tax because it is energy-intensive, according to commentary published in Agweek by Reps. Frank Lucas, Sam Graves and Doc Hastings, co-chairs of the Rural America Solutions Group. The “cap and trade” provision of the Waxman-Markey climate...
OFBF Executive Vice President Jack Fisher sent the following letter to the Ohio Senate emphasizing the importance of agricultural funding in the state budget.
OFBF Executive Vice President Jack Fisher sent the following letter to the members of the Ohio delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives to outline the growing labor and immigration concern in agriculture.
Marketing agreements are valuable tools that Ohio farmers can use to achieve tailored marketing, production, research and educational efforts with the goal of improving Ohio agriculture’s position within state, national and international markets.
Farm Bureau filed comments on Friday, May 1 in response to a request by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for comments on extending the effective date of the December 5 rule implementing changes to the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) regulation.
The deadline to apply for Ohio Farm Bureau's AgriPOWER Institute has been extended to June 8th. The AgriPOWER Institute is an intensive, year-long leadership course consisting of multiple training sessions. Its purpose is to help farmers and agribusiness professionals develop skills...
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All 12 members of the “super committee” who are charged with identifying ways to reduce the budget deficit by $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion by 2021 have been appointed.
The National Institutes of Health is reviewing a draft document outlining guidelines for animal care that Farm Bureau believes contains technical flaws relative to agriculture animal welfare. AFBF President Bob Stallman wrote to NIH Friday, urging it to reject the proposed guide and instead...