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State ag officials call for swift passage of farm bill
Story Date: 12/12/2018
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Source: NATIONAL ASSOC. OF STATE DEPTS. OF AGRICULTURE, 12/11/18
Following today’s announcement of a conference agreement on the next Farm Bill, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) President and New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Jeff Witte issued the following statement:
“We encourage House and Senate leadership to quickly prioritize a vote on this important food, farms, and jobs bill before the end of the 115th Congress,” said Witte. “NASDA’s resounding message to Congress this year was, 'We need a Farm Bill!’ so we are thrilled to see the Farm Bill Conference Committee deliver on this call to action. As the end of 2018 looms, this new Farm Bill is critically important to ensure farmers, ranchers, and consumers don’t lose access to critical programs provided by the Farm Bill.”
“The Committee’s prioritization on establishing the Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program is particularly noteworthy. This vital program will provide much-needed protections for America’s farmers and ranchers, our globalized food supply, and the U.S. economy.”
The conference agreement represents an important bipartisan effort to provide significant new resources for animal disease coordination and prevention. Specifically, the legislation will establish mandatory funding for state departments of agriculture that will help safeguard the economic vitality across America’s animal agricultural sector.
In addition to creating new tools for animal disease coordination and prevention, NASDA’s farm bill priorities focus on ensuring investment in programs for foreign and domestic marketing for farmers and value added food producers, invasive species, research, conservation, and food safety.
NASDA represents the elected and appointed commissioners, secretaries, and directors of the departments of agriculture in all fifty states and four U.S. territories. NASDA grows and enhances agriculture by forging partnerships and creating consensus to achieve sound policy outcomes between state departments of agriculture, the federal government, and stakeholders.
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