Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he’s fairly confident that Congress will succeed in either passing an extension to the 2018 farm bill or finish up work on a new one by the end of the year in order to avoid severe repercussions of doing nothing.
According to a report released in September by Procore Technologies, and the Associated General Contractors of America, 78% of civil and infrastructure construction firms expect their project backlog to increase or remain the same over the next year as new federal infrastructure funding ramps up. The report, Top Civil & Infrastructure Trends: Today's Industry Challenges and Opportunities, found that many firms are worried that labor shortages and productivity challenges could undermine their success with these projects.
Visit https://www.procore.com/ebooks/agc-civil-and-infrastructure-report to get a copy of the report.
The Soil Health Institute and National Association of Conservation Districts announced the results of a nationwide study that demonstrates how improving soil health can help farmers build resilience and improve profitability across a diversity of soil types, geographies, and cropping systems.
Lawmakers are inching ever closer to a government shutdown. It’s true that Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, is still two weeks away, but House conservatives continue to play hardball with Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
Lawmakers appear far from reaching agreement on a new farm bill, but farmers and consumers needn’t fear the possibility of $10-a-gallon milk next year. That prospect will almost certainly ensure that Congress passes some kind of extension of the 2018 farm bill by early 2024.
AFBF President Zippy Duvall commented last week on the Biden Administration’s revised Waters of the U.S. Rule.
Well more than half the wetlands in the United States are threatened by the Supreme Court’s Sackett decision, an EPA water official said on a webinar Wednesday.
The Farm Bureau and construction groups are united in their support to get WOTUS right. I think the American Road and Transportation Builders (ARTBA) summed up the most recent action succinctly.
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented on the Biden Administration’s revised Waters of the U.S. Rule.
“EPA had a golden opportunity to write a Waters of the U.S. Rule that’s fair to farmers and stands the test of time, but instead chose to continue government overreach and revise only a small slice of the rule that was rejected by the Supreme Court.
“We’re pleased the vague and confusing ‘significant nexus’ test has been eliminated as the Supreme Court dictated. But EPA has ignored other clear concerns raised by the Justices, 26 states, and farmers across the country about the rule’s failure to respect private property rights and the Clean Water Act.
“Farmers and ranchers share the goal of protecting the resources they’re entrusted with. They deserve a rule that respects farmers as partners in that effort.”
Debating pros and cons of an issue intensifies when a bill is before Congress for consideration. With the farm bill front and center in the halls of Congress, this opinion piece typifies the kinds of issues that come up as a bill is under consideration.