By Roger Johnson, president, National Farmers Union The decision by the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) is due sometime in mid to late May, and when that announcement happens, Congress needs to resist any attempts to change the popular labeling law until the WTO appeals process has been completely exhausted and a … Read More
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NFU Action Alert: COOL on the House Floor
Next week is going to be a very tough week for popular labeling law Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL). NFU expects the bill to repeal major parts of the law to be on the House floor between Tuesday and Thursday! Please call your House member and ask them to speak against the COOL repeal bill when the … Read More
Congress Should Not Support TPA
John Hansen is president of the Nebraska Farmers Union and served as a U.S. Trade Representative trade adviser for three administrations for 14 years starting in 1994. TPA, also known as Fast Track Authority, provides the administration with trade-negotiating direction and authority while also forcing Congress to vote up or down on trade proposals without … Read More
Trade Promises Have Failed to Materialize
By Roger Noonan, president, New England Farmers Union Promises of expanded trade benefiting U.S. farmers and rural communities have been made during the debates for NAFTA, CAFTA, and the U.S.-Korean Free Trade Agreements and now the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). These benefits have failed to materialize. Instead, rural communities have been roiled by profound economic instability. … Read More
New Dairy Training Program Brings in Beginning Farmers
Conventional dairy is in decline and the average age of dairy farmers in Maine is approaching 60. Too few young people are entering organic dairy. Meanwhile, the demand for organic milk is increasing at a dramatic rate, creating a nationwide shortage of organic milk. To address these challenges, Wolfe’s Neck Farm, an educational nonprofit farm … Read More
Dairy Farmer Chelsea Kruse on Finding Farming
Chelsea Kruse delivered this talk at the National Farmers Union convention in Wichita, Kansas, in March. My name is Chelsea Kruse, I’m a member of New England Farmers Union and a student of the 2014 Beginning Farmers Institute. I grew up in a very rural and unknown corner of New Hampshire, but I have no … Read More
Finding Farming
By Chelsea Kruse, 2014/2015 Beginning Farmer Institute participant My name is Chelsea Kruse, I’m a member of New England Farmers Union and a student of the 2014 Beginning Farmers Institute. I grew up in a very rural and unknown corner of New Hampshire, but I have no beginning in agriculture, no familial ties into farming. My … Read More
NFU 2015 Policy
Click here for the PDF Policy of the National Farmers Union Enacted by delegates to the 113th anniversary convention Wichita, KS March 14-17, 2015 National Farmers Union Mission and Vision Statements Mission – To advocate for the economic and social well-being, and quality of life of family farmers, ranchers, fishermen and consumers and their communities … Read More
Be Very Leery of the Big Trade Deals Being Peddled This Year
By Roger Johnson, president, National Farmers Union The American public – rural and urban alike – need to be very leery of the rhetoric being used to sell upcoming trade deals and to insist that any agreement signed by this country has the primary goal of reducing the overall trade deficit. Trade is neither … Read More
Maine Farmer Reflects on NFU Convention
GUEST BLOG POST By Margaret Hathaway, Ten Apple Farm When I was elected to be one of New England’s delegates to the National Farmers Union convention this March, I was honored by the trust placed in me, but unsure what to expect from the convention. Our Ten Apple Farm is on a small scale, our … Read More