by Justin Trammel Students from across the nation are in Minneapolis, Minn. Feb. 15 to 17 participating in the NFU College Conference on Cooperatives, sponsored by the CHS Foundation, CoBank, Farmers Union Industries Foundation, National Farmers Union (NFU) Foundation and others. The event will focus on how and why cooperatives succeed in America’s competitive business … Read More
NFU Attends 2013 PASA Conference
By Leigh Slayden, Vice President – Membership Approximately two dozen people gathered for the Pennsylvania Farmers Union (PFU) workshop at the 2013 Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) conference early morning session Feb. 7 . A few longtime members joined new voices to talk about issues that they have been facing. Chris Torres of “Lancaster Farming” … Read More
Immigration Reform on the Move
By NFU Government Relations Staff This week begins a flurry of activity on immigration reform, one of the key priorities President Obama laid out in his inaugural address, and one that holds a number of implications for the agricultural industry. NFU policy supports immigration reform that addresses the needs of U.S. agricultural producers while considering … Read More
President Obama Shows Courage on Climate and Energy
By Jan Ahlen, Government Relations Representative National Farmers Union has long believed in the science affirming climate change, and the need to transition to a low carbon economy driven by renewable energy and clean technology. In President Obama’s second Inaugural Address, climate change and renewable energy featured prominently. “We will respond to the threat of … Read More
Chicken Little
The following originally appeared on the Fuels America blog. To see the original blog, please visit http://www.fuelsamerica.org/blog/entry/chicken-little. The poultry industry is once again trotting out untruths when it comes to food prices, so it’s time to take a closer look at the author behind their latest collection of “facts.” In a recent study, Dr. Thomas … Read More
FDA releases much-anticipated food safety rules
By Mike Stranz, NFU Government Relations Representative It’s been two years since President Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) – the biggest change to food safety laws in the last seventy years. It wasn’t until last week, however, that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released two proposed rules that will provide enforcement … Read More
Fiscal Cliff/Farm Bill Extension Update
By NFU Government Relations Staff First posted Jan. 2, 2013 Late Tuesday night the House of Representatives passed Senate-negotiated fiscal cliff compromise legislation, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (H.R. 8), sending the bill to the president’s desk and finally putting to rest the negotiations that had dominated the lame duck session of the 112th … Read More
The Battle for COOL Continues
By Mike Stranz, NFU Government Relations Representative Earlier this month, the World Trade Organization (WTO) gave the United States a May 23, 2013, deadline to bring its Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) rules into compliance with a WTO ruling. That gives NFU members plenty of time to make their voices heard that we want to keep COOL. … Read More
Tired Criticisms of Renewable Fuels Merit a Response
By Jan Ahlen, NFU Government Relations Representative Attacks on the Renewable Fuel Standard have begun again in earnest. Following a recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision not to waive the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), the usual suspects are lining up again to blast our nation’s major effort to ramp up renewable fuels production, reduce … Read More
Fleecing of the Sheep Market
By Mike Stranz, NFU Government Relations Representative NFU has been very active in advocating for greater enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act. However, a majority in Congress has also been very active in trying to undermine nearly all of the authorities provided to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration … Read More