Farm Policy Facts

September 16, 2009

Farm Policy Facts

VOLUME 5 ISSUE 9

News Exclusives

A Hard Time With Consistency

Beheading awaited a French Queen in the 1700s when she was reported to have said, "let them eat cake," after learning the peasants had no bread.

Yet with more than 1 billion hungry people around the globe today, praise awaits the modern day version of this statement—"let them eat organic."

In the world where organic disciples live, all Americans have the means to buy locally grown organic fruits and vegetables; obesity is caused by farm policy; and efficiencies gained over the past decades are not necessary to feed a growing world population. Too bad this reality only exists in a handful of select socioeconomic circles.

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Key Senators Urge USDA to Protect Crop Insurance Program

WASHINGTON (Aug. 24, 2009)—Ten U.S. Senators sent a bipartisan letter to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week urging its Risk Management Agency (RMA) to approach upcoming negotiations over the Federal Crop Insurance Program with great care.

Led by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Senator Saxby Chambliss (GA), the Committee's top Republican, the letter was sent to precede the renegotiations over the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA)—the contract responsible for governing the relationship between the USDA and the companies providing Federal Crop Insurance Program assistance to farmers.

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The Hand That Feeds U.S.

The Hand that Feeds U.S. Guest Piece,
Finally, A Seat at the Table

By Jennifer James

The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry last week named Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) its new chair, making her the first woman in the Committee's history to take the helm.

Senator Lincoln herself was raised on a farm in Arkansas and growing up, she would scout rice levees right alongside her father, rain or shine. She understands the importance of agriculture to our country, and she understands the vital role women play in farming's success—a role too often overlooked.

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