The Senate Agriculture Committee today unveiled its version of the farm bill. This draft was hammered out by committee chairman Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, and ranking minority member Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan. In the course of drafting it, the two repeatedly expressed a commitment to proposal with bipartisan support.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall released the following statement, “America’s farmers and ranchers are facing an economic storm across the countryside, so the release today of the Senate Farm Bill is a crucial step to move the very important farm bill process forward. Farm income is at a decade low. Farm debt is on the rise and international markets for our farm goods are in jeopardy. The Senate Agriculture Committee, led by Chairman Pat Roberts and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, have worked hard to address those economic challenges and assemble a bipartisan bill that provides the clarity, policy certainty and vital risk protection tools that our farmers need now more than ever. We look forward to next week’s markup of the bill and to working with the Senate to move this farm bill forward. It is important that the Senate bill strikes a balance that will help set the overall congressional tone for getting the farm bill done this year.”

The Senate Agriculture Committee is scheduled to hold a markup of the bill next week.

Participants in the Virginia portion of the 2018 Mid-Atlantic Wheat Tour were encouraged by what they saw on farms in the eastern part of the state.

Robert Harper, grain division manager for Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, said the wheat assessed on May 31 showed “strong yield potential and low to moderate disease pressure” despite cool spring conditions and recent heavy rains.

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The Agriculture Department’s May 29 Crop Progress report provided the first subjective, visual-based observations of the condition of the U.S. corn crop. Based on observations from approximately 3,600 respondents, as of May 27, 79 percent of the 18-state corn area is in good-to-excellent condition – the second-highest initial rating since 1991 and the highest level since 1994.

The percentage of the corn crop in good-to-excellent condition was well above the average trade estimate of 72 percent, above the prior year’s 65 percent and above the five-year average of 70 percent. The percent of the corn crop estimated to be in poor or very poor condition was only 3 percent, the lowest initial rating since 2014.

Across much of the U.S., the good-to-excellent ratings are above the 5-year average. In the “I-states” (Iowa, Indiana and Illinois), the good-to-excellent conditions are 8 to 11 percentage points better than the 5-year average. Only Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Louisiana and Texas have good-to-excellent ratings below the 5-year average.

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Friday morning, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass the 2018 Farm Bill. After a largely party line vote of 198 – 213 against the bill, the Speaker moved to postpone a vote to reconsider the bill.

“We are already starting to hear from farmers across the nation, many of whom are perplexed and outraged at this morning’s vote. They are facing very real financial challenges,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall in a statement. “We call on all members of Congress not to use farmers and ranchers as pawns in a political game. The risk management tools of the farm bill are too important, particularly at a time of depressed farm prices. We urge the House to pass H.R. 2 as soon as possible.”

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Kyle Shreve has been selected as the next Executive Director of the Virginia Agribusiness Council.

Kyle comes to the Council from the Virginia Association of Health Plans, where he has been the Director of Policy since December 2015.  Prior to that, he served as the Director of Government Affairs for the Virginia Retail Merchants Association.  For the first six years of his career, Kyle worked for the International Dairy Foods Association as their Manager of Legislative Affairs.  While there, he worked extensively on agriculture policy and gained considerable knowledge of the industry.

In addition to his strong policy background, Kyle brings association management, event planning and membership recruitment experience to the Council.

Kyle is a native of Pennsylvania and received his B.A. in Political Science and History from Pennsylvania State University.  He later received his M.A. in Professional Studies in Political Management from George Washington University.

The National FFA Organization and National FFA Foundation have awarded more than $2.5 million in scholarships to 1,842 recipients, thanks to the generosity of 114 sponsors.

More than 8,800 students applied online for the scholarships, with many of the applicants being considered for multiple awards. Approximately one in every five students who applied was awarded a scholarship. The scholarships were available to students pursuing two-year or four-year degrees or vocational programs. The average recipient had a GPA of 3.77 on a 4.0 scale, and the average class rank was 23 out of 261.
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