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On
June 16, USDA Secretary Mike
Johanns announced that Farm Bill
Forums would be held across the
country throughout 2005 to solicit
public input for the 2007 renewal of
the Farm Bill and present six
specific questions to motivate the
debate. The current 2002 Farm Bill,
which authorizes many of the
programs operated by the USDA, will
expire with the 2007 crop year.
The
public will be invited to attend the
forums and to present oral comments.
Six topics identified to provide a
framework for the forums are:
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How should farm policy be
designed to maximize U.S.
competitiveness and our
country's ability to
effectively compete in
global markets?
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How should farm policy
address any unintended
consequences and ensure
that such consequences do
not discourage new farmers
and the next generation of
farmers from entering
production agriculture?
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How should farm policy be
designed to effectively
and fairly distribute
assistance to producers?
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How can farm policy best
achieve conservation and
environmental goals?
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How can Federal rural and
farm programs provide
effective assistance in
rural areas?
-
How should agricultural
product development,
marketing and
research-related issues be
addressed in the next farm
bill?
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Comments may
also be submitted electronically via
the USDA website ( click
here)
or email to
FarmBill@usda.gov.
They also can be mailed to Secretary
of Agriculture Mike Johanns, Farm
Bill, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20250-3355. USDA will
review the public comments received
by December 30, 2005, including any
analyses, reports, studies and other
material submitted with the
comments, which address the six
questions.
The
first Farm Bill Forum will be held
in Nashville, Tenn. on July 7 from
6:00 to 10:00 pm CDT at RFD-TV
Northstar Studios. The forum also
will accept calls from across the
nation. The dates, locations and
times of the forums will be
announced as they are scheduled and
be available on the USDA website (click
here)
For
more information please click on
USDA
Farm Bill Forums
If you
have any questions or comments
please contact Legislative Research
Analyst Chil-Sook Hwang by e-mail:
chwang@nationalgrange.org
by fax: 202-347-1091 or by phone:
1-888-4GRANGE, ext 109.
Are
you a Grange member who is
interested in discussing public
policy issues with other Grange
members?
CLICK HERE
Thank you for your
grassroots participation in the
National Grange Legislative program.
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