Month: April 2013

by Daryll E. Ray and Harwood D. Schaffer, Agricultural Policy Analysis Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn. Read the original post at agpolicy.org. In our previous column, we summarized a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) analysis of the five major nutrition programs  they fund: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for … Read More

by Daryll E. Ray and Harwood D. Schaffer, Agricultural Policy Analysis Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn. Read the original post at agpolicy.org. Though the Dow Jones Industrial Average has topped its previous high reached in late 2007, the use of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) food assistance programs remains at high levels, partly because … Read More

by Richard Oswald, Missouri Farmers Union president Read the original post at the Daily Yonder. Industrial agriculture erases the identity of our food, filtering its origins as cleanly as removing bee pollen from honey. Just mix, blend, inject it with a brand – and it’s ready for a shelf near you. Who made your food?  In these … Read More

Originally published in the April 18 edition of Iowa Farmer Today. by Roger Johnson Do you know the country where your shirt was made? Probably not off the top of your head, but you could always look at the label to find out. Now, how about the steaks you are about to grill for dinner? … Read More

by Tim Velde, Minnesota Farmers Union member I had quite a contrast in surroundings earlier this year. After spending five exciting days in Springfield, Mass., on the policy committee for NFU’s 111th national convention,  a day later my wife and I were on our way to Havana, Cuba. We were on a “People to People” … Read More

by Daryll E. Ray and Harwood D. Schaffer, Agricultural Policy Analysis Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN Read the original post at agpolicy.org. Recently we ran across a White Paper by the advertising and marketing agency, Sullivan Higdon & Sink (SHS) titled, “Building Trust in What We Eat: Consumers’ knowledge of and trust in food … Read More

by NFU Government Relations Staff President Obama released his budget for the 2014 fiscal year on Wednesday, largely positioned as a “middle ground” between the tax increases in the Senate-passed budget and the spending cuts in the House-passed budget. The budget replaces the sequestration cuts beginning in 2014 and reduces the deficit by $1.8 trillion … Read More

by Amy Lesperance, NFU Intern Have you been at the butcher counter of your local grocery store and wondered about the Country-of-Origin-Labeling (COOL) stickers that say something like, “Product of Canada and the U.S.?” I often feel like I spend an inordinate amount of time at the grocery store mulling over the information included on … Read More

The following was originally published on the Daily Yonder website on April 11, 2013. To read this story at its original source, click here. By Bob Dinneen | Roger Johnson | Tom Buis Editor’s Note: Yesterday four members of the House of Representatives introduced legislation to reduce the amount of renewable products such as ethanol … Read More

by Daryll E. Ray and Harwood D. Schaffer, Agricultural Policy Analysis Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN Read the original post at agpolicy.org. More than a decade after mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) was first included in the farm bill, the debate continues. Two weeks ago, we examined a legal opinion by the legal … Read More