We were fortunate on Wednesday to have our congressman, also House Ag Committee chairman, Collin Peterson, come to our farm for a visit. His travel companion was RMA head Bill Murphy. It’s quite a privilege to have two men of such prestige come to your farm.
Local farmers and town people came attended the event. We covered a wide range of issues, from river flooding and road permits, to ag stuff like the farm bill and crop insurance. I was pleased to here from Mr. Murphy that quality issues are going to be recognized in next years policies. Quality risk is something you can’t manage against and it can take quite a toll on your grain check. Right now, while grain prices are high, we are charged $1.35 because of the quality of the grain.
The congressman also talked about the farm bill. He wants to have the next bill on the President’s desk by the end of next year. He said direct payments may be going away. He envisions putting some of that money into crop insurance to help producers buy more coverage. He also envisions streamlining the programs. Crop insurance, ACRE, and SURE overlap and he thinks he can make a better system.
Here are some additional pictures from the event.
Great job, Eric.. thanks for your information for the public and hosting groups to see the real deal, especially our Ag legislative leaders.