FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 25, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202.554.1600 [email protected] WASHINGTON – In a letter sent today, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem – the Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, of the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition – urged President Donald Trump to enforce Section 202 of the Clean Air Act Amendments … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 25, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202.554.1600 [email protected] WASHINGTON – As they consider policies and legislation to curb the effects of climate change, federal lawmakers should both recognize the capacity of American family farmers to mitigate and build resilience to climate change as well as enact funding mechanisms to help them do … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 25, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202-554-1600 [email protected] The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s supplemental proposed rule to compensate for the ongoing misappropriation of small refinery exemptions (SREs) “fails to accurately account for the lost gallons and betrays President Trump’s promise to rural America,” according to National Farmers Union (NFU). In comments submitted … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 19, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202-554-1600 [email protected] WASHINGTON – Farmers and ranchers take home just 12.1 cents from every dollar that consumers spend on their Thanksgiving dinner meals, according to the annual Thanksgiving edition of the National Farmers Union (NFU) Farmer’s Share publication. The popular Thanksgiving Farmer’s Share compares the retail … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 15, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202.554.1600 [email protected] WASHINGTON – In response to ongoing financial challenges caused by trade disputes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced plans to issue the second of three possible tranches of trade assistance payments to affected farmers and ranchers. National Farmers Union (NFU) is appreciative … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 14, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202-554-1600 [email protected] WASHINGTON – Congress needs to quickly extend the biodiesel tax credit to prevent severe disruption of the U.S. biodiesel industry. National Farmers Union has joined more than 40 groups in a letter today urging House leadership to extend the now expired incentive before the … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 12, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202-554-1600 [email protected] WASHINGTON – A government program intended to support farmers and ranchers affected by trade disputes disproportionately benefitted large-scale and Southeastern operations, according to a minority staff report published today by the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 30, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202-554-1600 [email protected] WASHINGTON – U.S. Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), and several other House members today introduced a bipartisan bill to reform the agricultural labor system in the United States. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which is the product of negotiations between a diverse … Read More
By Rebecca J. H. White, Produce Manager, Hanover Co-Op Food Store For the first time this September, I found myself pursuing real organizational change in Washington. Knocking on the doors of my Senators and Representatives during National Farmers Union’s Fall Legislative Fly-In, I felt the intoxicating buzz of conversations centered on things that I care about, that affect … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 29, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202-554-1600 [email protected] WASHINGTON – In light of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ongoing misappropriation of small refinery exemptions (SREs), the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change within the Committee on Energy and Commerce today hosted a hearing on how those exemptions … Read More
By Alexis Dunnum, NFU Executive Assistant While some Americans may not be familiar with cooperatives, for rural Americans, cooperatives are integral to the economic and social viability of their communities. For decades, co-ops have provided family farmers and rural communities with everything from crop seed to broadband service. As a member of thirteen different cooperatives, … Read More
By Aaron Shier, NFU Government Relations Representative and Josie Krogh, NFU Intern This blog is cross-posted on the National Farm to School website. October is National Farm to School Month, a time to celebrate connections happening all over the country between schools, food, and local farmers, ranchers, and fishers! Over the past decade, the … Read More
By Kourtney Bitz I am a high school senior from Napoleon, a small town in North Dakota. Since I was just five years old, when I attended my first Farmers Union day class, North Dakota Farmers Union (NDFU) has made an immense impact on my life. That experience was extremely frightening for me; even though … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 23, 2019 WASHINGTON – A coalition of renewable fuel and agricultural trade organizations filed a petition Tuesday afternoon with the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, challenging the process by which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) exempted certain unknown small refineries from their respective Renewable Fuel Standard obligations … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 22, 2019 Contact: Ja-Rei Wang, Union of Concerned Scientists [email protected] WASHINGTON —At a hearing last week, USDA REE Deputy Under Secretary Scott Hutchins repeatedly deflected questions about the consequences of the relocation of the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food & Agriculture. A staggering 75 percent of staff have … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 21, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202-554-1600 [email protected] WASHINGTON – Although local food producers are broadly committed to food safety on their operations, there are still some barriers to implementing food safety best practices, according to a Needs Assessment Report released today by National Farmers Union Foundation’s Local Food Safety Collaborative (LFSC) … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 15, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202-554-1600 [email protected] WASHINGTON – A week and a half after announcing its intentions to offset a portion of the 4 billion gallons of demand for biofuels eliminated due to the ongoing misappropriation of small refinery exemptions (SREs), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released a … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 11, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202-554-1600 [email protected] WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump today announced the United States had reached a deal with China to put the brakes on a trade dispute between the two countries. The United States will delay additional tariffs on Chinese imports and, in exchange, China has agreed … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 4, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202-554-1600 [email protected] WASHINGTON – After several months of negotiations and much fanfare, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a broad plan to offset a portion of the 4 billion gallons of demand for biofuels eliminated due to the … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 23, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202.554.1600 [email protected] WASHINGTON – In conjunction with its Fall Legislative Fly-In earlier this month, National Farmers Union (NFU) hosted its first Raising Voices event for young agricultural leaders. Thirty-three FFA and Professional Agricultural Student (PAS) members hailing from 14 states traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 23, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202.554.1600 [email protected] WASHINGTON – A proposed rule to change the eligibility guidelines for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would erode food security in the United States, according to the Alliance to End Hunger. If the rule is implemented, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 11, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202-554-1600 [email protected] WASHINGTON– National Farmers Union (NFU) proudly recognized 26 outstanding U.S. Senators and Representatives who have demonstrated leadership and support at the federal policymaking level for family farmers, ranchers and their rural communities. The Golden Triangle Award, the family farm organization’s highest legislative honor, was … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 10, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202-554-1600 [email protected] WASHINGTON–National Farmers Union’s (NFU) ninth Beginning Farmer Institute (BFI) cohort in Washington, D.C., this week for the first of three learning sessions that will take place during the next year. Twelve beginning farmers and ranchers from a wide variety of demographic, geographic, and agricultural … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 9, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, 202-554-1600 [email protected] WASHINGTON– After yet another year of depressed commodity prices, uncertainty in export and biofuels markets, rapid consolidation in the food and agriculture sectors, and extreme and unseasonal weather events, nearly 400 of National Farmers Union’s (NFU) family farmer and rancher members traveled to Washington, … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 9, 2019 Contact: Hannah Packman, [email protected] WASHINGTON– In a pair of unanimously approved resolutions, the National Farmers Union (NFU) Board of Directors called on the administration and Congress to address mounting financial difficulties that have been exacerbated by recent policy decisions. Specifically, they urged the resolution of ongoing trade disputes, the enforcement … Read More