Farmers, advocates concerned about Vilsack’s record on dairy issues When he first took office, in 2009, some dairy farmers were optimistic about Vilsack’s apparent interest in changing the industry. By
12/18/2020 Some dairy farmers and advocates are worried that president-elect Joe Biden’s pick for agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, will do little to address their concerns about issues like consolidation, farm bankruptcies, and low milk prices. Critics are especially concerned about how Vilsack’s years running a dairy industry trade group will affect his policymaking approach. If confirmed, Vilsack would join the Biden administration with eight years at the helm of the USDA under his belt. When he first took office, in 2009, some dairy farmers were optimistic about Vilsack’s apparent interest in changing the industry. He convened an advisory committee of dairy experts to make recommendations for how to address price volatility and low profitab
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Negotiations between the House and Senate leaders will continue throughout the weekend on an approximately $900 billion bipartisan coronavirus aid package. The current proposal includes another round of direct payments to individuals, enhances unemployment benefits, provides aid to small businesses and funds the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Indications are that the agreement will include stimulus checks of $600-700 per individual. Also included is $300 per week in supplemental unemployment assistance. This compares to the $1,200 in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Negotiations continue on the number of weeks the assistance would last.
Agricultural leaders from across the U.S. have held a series of AgTalks virtual town halls this year emphasizing the importance of trade to U.S. agriculture and finding solutions for overcoming barriers.
They also identified opportunities to support U.S. food and agricultural exports, such as infrastructure improvements, including rural broadband expansion and investment in research and development.
The events included the whole food and agriculture ecosystem â farmers, food processors, equipment manufacturers and agricultural financiers, said Bryan Kuehl, co-chairman of Farmers for Free Trade, which coordinated the events.
âWe really wanted to make sure we had a robust discussion from all points of view in the food and ag supply chain. The goal of the AgTalks series really has been to focus forward,â he said in a virtual meeting on Tuesday.
NMPF
The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) are backing the U.S. Trade Representative s (USTR) decision to initiate official consultations with Canada to examine the administration of its dairy Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) obligations.
Backed by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in Congress, USDEC and NMPF have long raised the alarm over the need to ensure the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is fully enforced, due to Canada’s history of undermining its trade commitments.
“USMCA is designed to improve trade with Canada, while modifying some of Canada’s trade-distorting dairy policies. We knew from day one that enforcement would be key to bringing the intended benefits home to America’s dairy industry. I applaud USTR for hearing our concerns and relying on our guidance to take this critical enforcement step to ensure that the agreement is executed in both letter and spirit,” said Tom Vilsack, president and
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