The following information is communication from Allison Rivera, Executive Director of Government Affairs at National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in Washington, D.C. Since Congress did not pass an extension of the current Farm Bill when it expired at midnight on September 30th, some programs have expired and/or run out of funding. EQIP was funded through 2019…
Continue readingTrade agreements have been made! President Trump has a trip to Iowa planned for next week to announce lifting the summer ban on E15. I just had to start this update with GOOD NEWS. There is not one person involved in agriculture that doesn’t understand the importance of exports bringing value to what we produce.…
Continue readingFarm Bill is Chugging Along With the House VERY narrowly passing their version of the 2018 Farm Bill with a 213-211 outcome, now it’s on to the Senate to keep the ball rolling. The work requirements for SNAP outlined in the House version are not mirrored in what moved out of the Senate Ag Committee.…
Continue readingA tremendous amount of time and effort was expended on behalf of cooperative owners leading up to the passage of the omnibus budget, which was signed into law by the President on March 23. Section 199 was a significant benefit to Aurora Cooperative farmer-owners; a total of $40M of Section 199 deduction was passed through…
Continue readingDawn Caldwell Head of Government Affairs at Aurora Cooperative Government Affairs Update October 20, 2017 Two topics have been at the forefront the past several weeks – Renewable fuels and Section 199 within our current tax code. RENEWABLE FUELS Chris Vincent, penned an excellent op-ed supporting bio-fuels. If you haven’t seen that, you can read…
Continue readingDawn Caldwell Head of Government Affairs at Aurora Cooperative While the media focuses on relations with North Korea, another likely failing chance at repealing the Affordable Healthcare Act (Obamacare), and very unfortunate natural disasters, there are glimpses of progress being made in our nation’s Capital. The Senate Ag Committee held nomination hearings for both Stephen…
Continue readingDAWN CALDWELL HEAD OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS FEDERAL ISSUES Trade – Two rounds of NAFTA renegotiation meetings are completed. A large number of issues have been tabled, including the desire for expanded use of U.S.-made materials in automobiles and other products and disagreements about the mechanisms for resolving trade disputes and whether steps should be taken…
Continue readingGOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE JULY 31, 2017 DAWN CALDWELL FEDERAL ISSUES NAFTA Renogiation – August 16 is the day the renegotiation talks begin. As has been mentioned in the past, most of agriculture is feeling comfortable going into the talks. This has been reassured again by Secretary Perdue’s comments during a trip to Mexico just last…
Continue readingDAWN CALDWELL HEAD OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS FEDERAL ISSUES WOTUS-repeal measures move ahead. Two House spending bills targeting the Obama-era “waters of the U.S.” rule are closer to becoming law. The House Appropriations Committee approved its fiscal 2018 energy and water spending bill last Wednesday, and the House Appropriations subcommittee responsible for funding the EPA sent…
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