Farmers for Free Trade brought its #MotorcadeForTrade to Washington D.C. Thursday to highlight the importance of ag trade with Canada and Mexico and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that Congress will consider to upgrade NAFTA. Members of Congress and farm leaders discussed how USMCA provides farmers with new market access while maintaining a zero-tariff platform, and stressed the need for Congressional …
EPA Officially Ditches the #WOTUS Rule
Agricultural organizations are celebrating the official repeal of a rule that they have been fighting since 2015 – Waters of the United States, better known as WOTUS. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Department of the Army Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works R.D. James announced that the agencies are repealing the rule and “recodifying the …
National Ag Day Honors Youth
The Agriculture Council of America (ACA) honored the winners of the 2019 National Ag Day video and written essay contest during the celebration in Washington DC this week, and also featured a youth panel discussion moderated by USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Censky. The theme for the video and essay contest this year was Agriculture: Food for Life. How does our …
President Includes Ethanol in Farm Bureau Speech
It took a while to get there, but President Donald Trump did mention ethanol in his speech to the American Farm Bureau Federation 100th Annual Convention Monday. “We’re ensuring that ethanol remains a vital part of America’s energy future with E15 and we’re making it available year round, all 12 months, that’s a big difference for the farmers,” said Trump. …
President Trump Addresses 100th AFBF Convention
For the second year in a row, President Donald J. Trump addressed the members of the American Farm Bureau Federation at its 100th annual convention Monday in New Orleans. Despite being nearly an hour late, the president was greeted by thousands of farmers and ranchers who had been in place waiting to see him since early in the morning, and …
Sen. Roberts Addresses #AFBF19
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS), who just announced he will be retiring from Congress after his current term ends in 2020, addressed some 7,000 members of the American Farm Bureau Federation at the organization’s 100th annual convention Sunday in New Orleans. Known for his caustic wit and straight talk, as well as his dedication to the agriculture community, …
AFBF Celebrates Centennial
American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Zippy Duvall officially opened the organization’s 100th annual convention in New Orleans Sunday before approximately 7,000 farmers and ranchers from across the nation. Duvall outlined a few of the organization’s many historic accomplishments since 1919, such as leading the way on the nation’s first farm bill in the 1930s and helping develop the Food …
Ethanol and Farm Groups Getting Impatient for Answers
In the wake of repeated promises and assurances from the Trump Administration, but no actions, ethanol stakeholder groups are running out of patience. In a joint letter to President Trump today, the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Corn Growers Association, National Farmers Union, National Sorghum Producers, American Coalition for Ethanol, Growth Energy, and Renewable Fuels Association urged the administration to …
EPA Approves Sorghum Oil as Biofuels Pathway
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler yesterday announced the approval of sorghum oil as an eligible feedstock under the Renewable Fuel Standard during a signing event at EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., with sorghum farmers and other stakeholders. In December 2017, the EPA released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) concerning renewable fuels produced from sorghum oil under the RFS …
Trump Puts Rural America in the Spotlight
President Trump’s address to the American Farm Bureau Federation 99th annual convention this week in Nashville definitely brought agriculture some positive publicity, mentioning the word farmers over 25 times in his speech, more than any of the previous three presidents in all of their official speeches combined. Granted, that is just a guess but I feel safe in saying that …