Good afternoon and thank you all for joining us. For the past several years, youth participants in the National 4-H Conference have met with members of Congress and made presentations to federal agencies and House Agriculture Committee members and staff. Last year I had the privilege to chair a hearing where we heard from 17 distinguished 4-H delegates whose presentation highlighted the importance... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) announced today that the committee will begin a series of hearings titled Focus on the Farm Economy. Each of the six subcommittees will examine growing pressure in rural America from the perspective of the subcommittee. The first hearing in the series—Focus on the Farm Economy: Growing Farm Financial Pressure—will be... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee completed its two-day examination of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) organization and program administration. Over the past two days, members of the committee heard from 25 undersecretaries, administrators, and other department officials across USDA’s seven mission areas, on a variety of topics, which included an accounting for ... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the Committee on Agriculture began Part I of a two-day hearing series examining U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) organization and program administration. USDA officials from the Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services (FNCS), Food Safety (FS), and Rural Development (RD) mission areas served as witnesses. This hearing series follows a similar series the committee held w... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: Today and tomorrow, we have before us most of the undersecretaries of the Department of Agriculture. Each of these witnesses is responsible for an important mission area within USDA. Accompanying our witnesses are administrators who manage agencies and programs within these larger mission areas. These folks lead the network of nearly 100,000 USDA employees who carry out the la... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) issued the following statement in response to the Senate’s failure to advance critical bioengineered food labeling legislation. "The House Agriculture Committee has been working for months to promote bipartisan solutions to the problems confronting American agriculture. We have listened to our constituents, en... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research, and Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture held a joint hearing to highlight the importance of agricultural policies to protecting our national security. Members heard from representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Servic... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: Thank you Chairman Davis. As my colleague has mentioned, this hearing is the third in a series of hearings highlighting the crucial intersection of agriculture and our national security. In our first hearing last November, the full agriculture committee heard from Ambassador John Negroponte and Dr. Tammy Beckam, Dean of the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicin... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: Good morning. I am pleased to be here alongside my good friend, Representative David Rouzer, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture, for this joint hearing in which we will highlight efforts to defend American agriculture against the introduction of foreign pests and diseases. This hearing is the third in a series of hearings through which the Commit... Read more »
By Mike Conaway America's farmers and ranchers are undeniably some of the most dedicated and humble individuals in this country. Without complaint, rain or shine, they simply wake up and work hard because that is what's needed to keep our country running. But despite their best efforts, America's farmers and ranchers are facing real challenges today. Net farm income is estimated to fall 56 percent... Read more »
