House Farm Bill Fails Rural Nebraska

May 17, 2018

By Brian Depew

The House Agriculture Committee has proposed and voted for a new version of the farm bill. Unfortunately, their proposed bill fails rural Nebraskans.

Working together with members of our congressional delegation, rural Nebraskans have made major improvements to farm policy in the last two farm bills. Farm policy today is more fair, better protects our land and water and does more to create opportunity for a new generation than it did 10 years ago. The House farm bill threatens to turn the clock back a decade.

The bill makes three major changes that roll back wins Nebraskans have worked together to achieve.

The Conservation Stewardship Program, won in 2009, protects more than 70 million acres nationwide. It is a sensible program that is working for Nebraskans. In 2017, Nebraska ranked second in the country for new acres enrolled, and first in the country for acres re-enrolled.

The program offers farmers and ranchers the opportunity to earn payments for actively managing and maintaining conservation on their farm. The program supports practices such as grass waterways, pollinator strips, rotational grazing, and cover crops. The House farm bill eliminates the Conservation Stewardship Program.

The 2014 farm bill made historic changes to tighten loopholes that previously allowed the largest farmers to collect unlimited farm program commodity subsidies. Our own Rep. Jeff Fortenberry championed a 2013 bill in the House to close such loopholes. The House farm bill rolls back these reforms, reopening and creating new loopholes that will allow the largest farms to collect government payments without limit.

Unlimited farm payments for corporate-owned farms are the opposite of what rural Nebraska needs. Not only are such payments fiscally irresponsible, they are unfair to Nebraska’s hard-working, family-scale farmers. As Congress moves forward with the farm bill, we call on Rep. Fortenberry to again stand as a champion against this harmful proposal.

Finally, innovative programs such as the Value-Added Producer Grant Program, the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program and the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program won in the last two years have added support for rural small businesses and local and regional market development.

Supported by members of our delegations in Washington, these programs are creating opportunity for a new generation in rural Nebraska. The House farm bill effectively eliminates these critical programs by defunding them.

We are proud to have worked with rural Nebraskans and our delegation in D.C. to win, protect, and build on many of these gains in the 2014 and 2008 farm bills. Farm policy today is more fair, creates more opportunity, and is better at supporting stewardship of our land and water for future generations because of our collective work.

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Video: Canada's Agriculture Day 2025

Let's celebrate Canadian agriculture.

Well, number one, you don't eat without farmers. Farmers put food on the table. And what could be more important than that?

Well, I think it's important that Canadians understand exactly what takes place, what happens to produce this food, no matter what sector you're talking about.

An awful lot of work goes into that. It's important to understand that meat does not come out of a showcase, and milk does not come out of a bottle. It's produced by farmers and hard work.

Canada has the best farmers in the world. And agriculture is vital to Canada.

In 2024, our agriculture and agri-food sector represented $150 billion of Canada's GDP, nearly $100 billion of our exports, and one in nine jobs.

From grains to fruits to dairy and beef, we are truly blessed with an incredible bounty. Having spent my whole life in agriculture, I see so much potential for the sector.

This time last year, I was proud to open our first-ever agriculture and trade office in the Indo-Pacific, the world’s fastest-growing economy, to cement our presence in the region and grow our exports even more. We've also been making historic investments to help our farmers to boost their yields, protect the planet, and earn a fair living.

The world wants more top-quality, sustainable food, and I know our Canadian farmers can deliver. And it's so important that you do that with pride. We need you.

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Just say thank you to a farmer or a rancher. They work very hard, yes, for a living, but also with a sense of pride in what they produce.

That's what Canada's Agriculture Day is all about.