after several months of acrimonious debate, House and Senate leaders passed a budget corrective item on largely partisan lines, relying primarily on Democrat votes in both the House and Senate (although the republicans hold a majority in the Ohio Senate, the bill was passed with only five...
The Plain Dealer reports that the House and Senate are set to return this month after a contentious 2009, with Senate President Bill Harris (R-Ashland) and House Speaker Armond Budish (D-Beachwood) pledging better cooperation between the two chambers.
Hong Kong is the fourth-largest market for U.S. food and beverage exports, which have grown by 15 percent this year. This represents the fastest growth among all export markets globally, according to a report by USDA’S Foreign Agricultural Service.
The decline of honeybee colonies has slowed slightly since last fall, but the Agriculture Department says a mysterious combination of ailments is still affecting honeybee populations. Research at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Md., found that honeybee...
U.S. hog producers should break even in 2010 as both the average price received and the total cost of production are expected be around $50 per hundredweight, according to Purdue University Extension Economist Chris Hurt.
An economic analysis by the Food and Agricultural Policy Institute reveals that requiring higher nonfat solids in fluid milk would benefit consumers with additional nutrients with little impact on the price of a gallon of milk.
Ohio Farm Bureau members should call or e-mail their State Representative and State Senator to urge final passage of a critical livestock care measure (even if you already called or e-mailed the week of June 22nd-26th).
HB 89 (Derickson) – Agriculture Week HB 89 passed both Chambers with unanimous support and was signed into law by Governor Kasich on March 11th. HB 89 designates the second full week of March as Ohio Agriculture Week to honor the state's agriculture community.
House Bill 415 (Sprague, Hill) and Senate Bill 281 (Beagle) are bills to expand the Agricultural Linked Deposit Program in Ohio. The legislation expands both the available per-loan amount from $100,000 to $150,000.
HB 321 would designate the week in which Thanksgiving occurs as "Ohio Agriculture Week" in order to increase public recognition of the vitally important role that agriculture plays both in this state and across the nation. Ohio Farm Bureau supports this legislation and will be testifying...
The World Health Organization (WHO) continues to hold daily press conferences on the hybrid influenza outbreak. The alert level has been raised from Phase 4 to Phase 5, and may be increased to Phase 6 in some regions.
President Barack Obama, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano are calling the inappropriately named “swine flu” virus by its scientific name, H1N1 virus, which will likely be the official name for the new strain of flu.
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) says he wants to instill some “common sense thinking” at the Environmental Protection Agency and is inviting Administrator Lisa Jackson and other agency officials to visit a farm in Iowa. “I don’t think the people at the EPA get the big picture.
Governor Ted Strickland shared with the House and Senate a proposal to balance the state’s fiscal years 2010-2011 operating budget without a tax increase and lay the groundwork for jobs and economic growth.
How passage of the Clean Water Restoration Act would affect farmers and ranchers was the subject of a Fox News broadcast story on Sunday. Don Parrish, water expert with the American Farm Bureau Federation, appeared live on a segment about the issue.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The U.S. Department of Agriculture designated four Ohio counties as agricultural natural disaster areas, making certain farmers and other agricultural producers in the counties eligible for low-interest emergency loans from USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA).
Citing changes in farm practices and energy policy, analysts at the Environmental Protection Agency have sharply lowered estimates of the potential carbon credits for which farmers and landowners would likely qualify, according to the Des Moines Register. This could make it difficult to sell...
Ohio Farm Bureau Federation's 2013 Federal Priority Issues
Two central Ohio Farm Bureau members recently testified on legislation introduced by State Representative Bob Peterson (R- Sabina) that calls on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reconsider the FCC order granting the broadband network provider, LightSquared, conditional...
Congressional ratification of three bilateral free-trade agreements between the United States and Korea, Colombia and Panama, as well as approval of Trade Adjustment Assistance, is welcome news for farmers and ranchers, according to the American Farm Bureau...
Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry encourages hunters to harvest more deer and assures that the excess of venison, a great source of low-fat protein, finds its way to the table of hungry persons. Nearly all of Ohio’s counties participated in the program last winter, resulting in the...
The Des Moines Register reported Sunday that Democrats may have to win over farmers if they want to enact controls on greenhouse gases. According to the Register, Democrats control the House, 256-178, but many of their newest, most politically vulnerable members are from rural areas, and farm...
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Twenty agricultural groups are distributing this letter in an unprecedented campaign that encourages farmers to be proactive in the effort to improve water quality:Dear friend,As a farmer in Ohio you have a significant challenge bearing down quickly...
Farm Bureau has long advocated for the expansion of broadband in rural areas but the organization is concerned about a new service that could disrupt global positioning system (GPS) signals.
Farm Bureau is pleased by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s announcement that the Agriculture Department will fully deregulate Roundup Ready alfalfa, American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman said.
The Food Safety Enhancement Act, a bill that would overhaul food safety rules, includes provisions that concern farmers and ranchers, the Farm Bureau told the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in a letter.
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Ohio Farm Bureau is backing a bipartisan proposal that would establish a framework for making decisions on livestock care in Ohio. Joint resolutions in the House and the Senate would place a measure on the November ballot to create the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board...
County Farm Bureaus, OSU Extension offices and Soil and Water offices will have a great opportunity to
recognize Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs) for their outstanding work with agricultural producers. The
Excellence in Crop Advising Award is to recognize Certified Crop Advisers who have...
In testimony before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management, American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman said it was a long, hard road to passage of the 2008 farm bill, and it is now time for implementation.
Climate change legislation unveiled last week (H.R. 2454) “ignores the complex needs of a very diverse U.S. agricultural industry” and will draw opposition from the American Farm Bureau Federation. In a letter sent to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, AFBF President Bob Stallman...
The House voted 277-148 late Thursday night to approve the $859 billion bill that extends the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for two years and sets the estate tax at 35 percent with a $5 million exemption through 2012. The legislation, which passed the Senate by a vote of 81-19 on Wednesday, now goes...
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OFBF has sent out an action alert, asking members to contact their senators and representatives to ask them to extend the current maximum estate tax rate and exemption, which are set to expire Jan. 1. The current exemption is set at $5 million with a top rate of 35 percent...
Ohio Farm Bureau members in northern Ohio are asking fellow members statewide to take action against proposals to privatize the Ohio Turnpike. Ohio’s government is currently studying the best way to leverage the Ohio Turnpike, specifically privatizing it, and the results of that study are...
COLUMBUS, Ohio (OFBF) – 95 percent of the candidates who received the endorsement of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) won their races on Election Day. In total, 121 of the 127 candidates approved by OFBF’s Agriculture for Good Government Political Action Committee (AGGPAC) won...
American Farm Bureau Federation Bob Stallman expressed appreciation for the efforts of the U.S. trade representative to expand beef marketing opportunities, but said Farm Bureau is disappointed that the provisional agreement announced Wednesday between the United States and the European Union...
Farm Bureau is urging support for a broad exemption to the estate tax bill introduced by Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.). The bill would increase the exemption under the estate tax while lowering the tax rate. “There aren’t 60 votes in the Senate for permanent repeal, so we are shifting from repeal...
The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) has announced the creation of the Center for Food and Animal Issues. The Center represents Farm Bureau’s expanded commitment to participate in and influence the public dialog over the role animals play in society.
Farm Bureau supports a bill by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) on the regulation of tobacco products that provides more explicit protection for farmers from on-farm regulation and changes to production practices than a recently passed House bill...
As discussion develops on writing a 2012 farm bill and reducing the federal budget deficit, there may be talk of cutting “farm subsidies.” But the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri points out that such cuts would make just a tiny dent...
The estate tax will be one of the big issues in Congress for farmers and ranchers in 2010, according to Mark Maslyn, executive director of public policy for the American Farm Bureau Federation. “The exemption levels at the end of 2009 were $3.5 million per household. In 2010 that has gone away...
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Supporters say this would provide an economic boost to the industry and recover as much as $1.2 billion in gambling income lost to surrounding states.
A proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would include a more thorough assessment of pesticide health risks to workers, including farmworkers and farm children, as well as risks posed by pesticides that are not used on food.
As published in the April 29th Federal Register, EPA is seeking public comment on a petition from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) that the agency cancel all uses of the pesticide Endosulfan.
The Environmental Protection Agency published a proposed rule in the Federal Register, finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health and welfare. Publication of the rule opens a 60-day comment period on a proposal that could result in EPA regulating emissions under the Clean Air Act.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday that it will wait until June to decide whether to approve a petition by Growth Energy to boost the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline to 15 percent. EPA did acknowledge that it believes American cars built after 2001 “will likely be...
The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule Monday banning the use of the pesticide carbofuran on food crops, saying it poses an unacceptable health risk, especially to children.
The enforcement for laws regarding the Endangered Species Act has evolved drastically, as activists have resorted to the courts to drive policy decisions. A recent settlement with the US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) brings hundreds of changes on species listings. More lawsuits means less resources.
Farm Bureau members are encouraged to get involved in the 2012 elections by volunteering for and learning about candidates both at the local and state levels.
Republicans Sweep All Ohio Statewide Offices, Re-take Ohio House and U.S. House. Two former Ohio Farm Bureau Presidents Win Key Races and will now serve in the Ohio House of Representatives and U.S. Congress.As the most expensive mid-term elections in the nation’s history drew to a close...
An editorial in today’s Investor’s Business Daily rallied against climate change legislation, stressing that consumers will pay higher food prices due to increased farming costs. “If the cap-and-trade provisions of the Waxman-Markey bill become law, you can wave goodbye to those amber waves...