"WASHINGTON -- Taking aim at California's pioneering efforts to bolster animal safety, the House Agriculture Committee has moved to block states from imposing their own standards for agriculture products on producers from other states."
"WASHINGTON -- The EPA says it does not fly drones over the heartland to spy on farmers. It does, however, use manned aircraft to enforce anti-pollution laws. And that's a practice that a group of farm-state lawmakers want to stop."
"Sen. Bernie Sanders' plan to give individual states the authority to require the labeling of genetically engineered foods has been defeated in the U.S. Senate by a three to one margin. Sanders' proposal was one of more than 70 amendments to the 2012 Farm Bill."
"WASHINGTON — The Senate approved a sweeping new farm bill on Thursday that would cost nearly $1 trillion over the next 10 years, financing dozens of price support and crop insurance programs for farmers and food assistance for low-income families."
"A five-year farm and food bill that would revamp the federal safety net for farmers and eliminate direct government payments for idle crop fields took its first step toward passage Thursday in the Senate."
"WASHINGTON — The Senate Agriculture Committee passed a five-year, half-trillion-dollar farm bill on Thursday that would cut spending by almost $25 billion."
The release Friday of the Senate Agriculture Committee chairman's draft of a 2012 Farm Bill shifted the political fight over this major legislation into high gear. Finishing the bill by September, when the current law expires, will be a challenge, especially in an election year. The Farm Bill has many provisions that affect the environment, public health, and environmental health.
"The Farm Bill is the Olympics of U.S. food and agriculture policy. Every five years or so this important legislation comes up for renewal and the games begin. The federal government awards medals in the form of billion-dollar budgets that will determine what foods we eat and how we grow them. The current Farm Bill is set to expire on September 30, 2012, and the debate over who will dominate the food system is well underway."
"For decades, farm bills in the U.S. Congress have supported large-scale agriculture. But with the 2012 Farm Bill now up for debate, advocates say seismic shifts in the way the nation views food production may lead to new policies that tilt more toward local, sustainable agriculture."
"The farm bill is a favorite target of budget-cutters and those looking to reduce the size of government, particularly because about 80% of it encompasses food stamps and nutritional programs. However, it also contains some of the most successful conservation programs in our nation’s history, and those are now threatened with the ax, including the popular 1985 Conservation Reserve Program."
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