Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit held its final hearing in a series examining the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act on derivatives markets. Members of the subcommittee reviewed the impact of mandatory clearing and trade execution requirements on markets and end-users. “Throughout this hearing series, we’ve discussed chal... Read more »
Noah, Paula, and their three daughters Ella, Samantha, and Hannah For most, receiving phone calls at 3 in the morning is an unnatural and unpleasant experience. For Minnesota farmer Noah Hultgren it’s just another day, or night, on the job. During harvest, farmers like Noah work around the clock to ensure Americans and others around the world have food on their tables. Curiosity got the best of u... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee debuted a new blog, Homegrown, to chronicle daily life of American farmers and ranchers from the perspective of producers. The gap between urban and rural Americans is growing, and many Americans may not understand how the food on their table gets from the farm to the grocery store, or have ever stepped foot on a farm. Agriculture affects e... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway joined House Speaker Paul Ryan and Republican lawmakers to unveil a policy plan, “A Better Way,” aimed at helping lift people out of poverty and onto the ladder of opportunity. The rollout was announced at House of Help City of Hope, a poverty-fighting organization in Washington, DC, focused on cultural, spiritual, a... Read more »
By: Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) Agriculture is the foundation of our livelihood and the lifeblood of rural America. I like to joke with my urban colleagues who say they do not “have agriculture” in their district that as long as their constituents eat, dress, and drive, they have a vested interest in agriculture. I am honored to chair the House Agriculture Committee, one of the most bipartisan ... Read more »
Roll Call By: Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-TX), Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) Have you ever gotten into an argument about whether a carton of eggs are still good even though the date on the label has passed? It's happened in our households and we bet it's happened in yours. Although it seems like a harmless domestic disagreement, the truth is when you throw away perfectly ... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: Since I became chairman of the House Agriculture Committee at the beginning of last year, we’ve held more than 70 hearings and have invited a broad range of experts, including people in the field, to share their knowledge on everything from the futures markets to farmers markets. The committee doesn’t agree all the time on every issue, but one of the reasons we’re able to work... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to understand the sources and impacts of food waste. Members heard from a variety of witnesses from industry, academia and the private sector who shared their efforts and initiatives in place to address the issue of food waste across the food chain. “An estimated forty percent of the food grown in this country is wasted, endi... Read more »
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. David Rouzer (NC-7), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture, held a hearing on the market outlook for the livestock, dairy and poultry sectors. This was the final hearing in the Focus on the Farm Economy series, where each of the six subcommittees examined the growing pressures in rural America from the perspec... Read more »
Remarks as prepared: Good morning. This is the final hearing in our farm economy series. Each of the other five subcommittees has examined the growing pressure in rural America from the perspective of their jurisdictions. Farmers are currently facing a steep drop in commodity prices, resulting in the largest 3-year decline in net farm income since the Great Depression. Razor tight margins are like... Read more »
