Peace Garden News

FARGO, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today met with members of the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo (FMWF) Chamber of Commerce’s Agribusiness Committee to discuss North Dakota’s priorities for the next farm bill. The meeting comes as the latest in the senator’s efforts to ensure the state’s farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses have the opportunity to provide direct input as work on the next farm bill continues. In particular, Hoeven is working as a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and as Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee to:

• Maintain crop insurance, the primary risk management tool for many producers.
• Update and improve the counter-cyclical safety net, including the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs.
• Ensure support for U.S. sugar policy.
• Improve transparency and competition in cattle markets.
• Strengthen livestock disaster programs, including the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), the Livestock Forage Program (LFP) and the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP).
• Make sure programs are voluntary and farmer-friendly, instead of one-size-fits-all, to reduce the regulatory burden on producers.

“Through hard work, innovation and a positive business climate, North Dakota remains a global leader in agriculture. That’s a win not only for our economy, but for every American who benefits from the lowest-cost, highest-quality food supply in the world,” said Hoeven. “Food security is central to our quality of life and not something we can take for granted. Today’s meeting is about maintaining good farm policy, giving our farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses a voice in the process and delivering the tools they need to continue succeeding.”

Hoeven is advancing these priorities as work continues on the next farm bill, having previously raised them with U.S. Department of Agriculture officials, including Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. These efforts follow a discussion that Hoeven hosted last year with Senator John Boozman, Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, in North Dakota with local producers and commodity groups.  

https://www.hoeven.senate.gov/imo/media/image/hoeven-fmwf-ag-roundtable.jpg

Original source can be found here.