Lawmakers, Farm groups to White House:
Leave Ag Budgets Alone
"Cutting farm programs in the midst of an economic downturn sends the wrong signal to rural America," noted Republican Senators Saxby Chambliss (GA), Pat Roberts (KS), John Thune (SD), Thad Cochran (MS), Jim Risch (ID), Mike Crapo (ID), Lindsey Graham (SC), Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX), and David Vitter (LA).
Democratic chairmen of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have also expressed opposition to the President's budget proposal.
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Special Interests Still Kinda Flakey
WASHINGTON (March 12, 2010)—Special interests with no real hands-on experience on the farm are threatening the very policies that will be essential to feeding a growing world population, according to a major ag lender.
"[T]he group of people who are formulating food system policy and regulatory frameworks have expanded beyond . . . the traditional ag groups," Cornelius Gallagher, global agribusiness executive for Bank of America, recently told attendees of the Farm Foundation's forum on the finance and credit environment for agriculture and the food system, held in Washington, DC, on March 2.
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NFU Opposes Budget Cuts to Farm Policy
 WASHINGTON (March 16, 2010)—One of the nation's biggest agricultural trade groups underscored its support of the farm safety net, including crop insurance, at its annual conference today and overwhelmingly passed a resolution opposing needless budget cuts to farm policy.
The National Farmers Union (NFU), which represents more than 250,000 family farmers, adopted the policy at a time when budget deficits are swelling in Washington, DC, and lawmakers are in search of ways to slash spending. But, agriculture already received cuts during the 2008 farm bill, and being singled out for an additional reduction is unwarranted, according to the resolution.
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WASHINGTON, DC (March 17, 2010)—Key U.S. senators sent a 
