The Farmer's Daughter USA

Hi, I'm Amanda! My family farms corn and soybeans in Southwest Michigan. I'm also a practicing attorney.

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Work with Me
    • Speaking
    • Giveaways
    • Social Media Consulting
    • Sponsored and Guest Posts
  • Gift Shop
    • Cart
    • Checkout
  • About Me
    • Media
    • Terms of Use

AFBF Announces 2020 Policy Priorities

January 29, 2020

American Farm Bureau Federation just wrapped up its 2020 annual convention. Delegates to the convention elected leadership and voted on policy priorities for the coming year.

I’m always interested in AFBF’s policy decisions, because they really come from the grassroots up. So I thought I would highlight the issues on farmers minds and how that might impact agriculture.

Support for Climate Change Research

AFBF delegates recognize the increasing challenges of climate change, and they want to see more research done. They also want to see that research focus on regional differences. But they don’t want states to each have different approaches that create a patchwork of laws and regulations. Delegates prefer a uniform national plan.

Interestingly, the delegates also recognized that agriculture is already a leader in combating climate change. They want to see more of the data supporting that published and promoted. I’m ecstatic about this prong! Farming has become a punching bag and it needs to stop. This information should help.

Review of Crop Data Reports

Folks outside of agriculture probably don’t know it, but the USDA regularly puts out crop reports throughout the growing season. It’s meant to give farmers, purchasers, and the markets an idea of how things are progressing. But many farmers were critical of USDA’s crop reports in 2019. It seemed that no matter how bad things were on the ground, in light of record flooding, USDA kept releasing sunshine-and-lollipop crop reports. And every time, the commodity prices would plummet.

AFBF delegates want this process reviewed. There’s obviously a lack of confidence in how these crop reports are tabulated and released. USDA Secretary Perdue says he’s done a comprehensive review and everything was above board. But delegates want more assurances. Given the impact these reports have on the market, I don’t blame them.

Conservation Compliance

Farmers who participate in federal farm programs are subject to a lot of conservation practices. For example, decisions are made on whether “wetlands” can be farmed or not. But sometimes those decisions happen within the agency and farmers don’t get a lot of control over it.

So AFBF delegates want USDA to make some changes. They want to see more transparency and due process for farmers, especially in the wetland delineations and the appeals process. This priority was the most interesting to me. I’ve personally heard stories from frustrated farmers. And it’s interesting that this issue made it all the way to the national level.

Hemp and THC Levels

The 2018 Farm Bill opened the door for hemp production. But there are still a lot of questions in the implementation. The delegates were particularly interested in the allowable levels of THC in hemp.

THC is the chemical that gives people all the good feels in marijuana. Because hemp is close relative to marijuana, it can also have some THC in it. But how much? AFBF delegates support allowing a higher THC level. They also want to increase the time frame for when farmers test the crop for those levels. Because so many things about producing hemp are still being regulated and researched, I predict these issues will be around for the next few years.

signature
Share this:
«
»

Filed Under: Government Affairs Tagged With: AFBF, federal government

Hi, I'm Amanda. My family farms corn and soybeans in Southwest Michigan. I'm an attorney and I'm passionate about agriculture!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe via Email

Archives

Latest on Twitter

May 1, 2023
Farmers Daughter's Twitter avatar
Farmers Daughter
@farmdaughterusa

Healthy Soil’s Big Impact t.co/xBO5tCKP17

  • Reply
  • Retweet 0
  • Like 2
March 29, 2023
Farmers Daughter's Twitter avatar
Farmers Daughter
@farmdaughterusa

The Silver Lining in This Year’s Dirty Dozen List t.co/qD3kFSYmtE

  • Reply
  • Retweet 0
  • Like 1
March 2, 2023
Farmers Daughter's Twitter avatar
Farmers Daughter
@farmdaughterusa

Right-to-Repair Challenges Continue t.co/sOTL8t7fPx

  • Reply
  • Retweet 3
  • Like 4

Latest on Facebook

The Farmer's Daughter

5 days ago

The Farmer's Daughter

We're done planting corn!! 🥳🥳 I haven't posted many updates about #plant23 because it's been a little rough. 🫣 But we're getting there!

... See MoreSee Less


Photo

View on Facebook

·
Share



Share on Facebook



Share on Twitter



Share on Linked In



Share by Email

The Farmer's Daughter

1 week ago

The Farmer's Daughter

And...go!

... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook

·
Share



Share on Facebook



Share on Twitter



Share on Linked In



Share by Email

The Farmer's Daughter

2 weeks ago

The Farmer's Daughter

Reducing food waste is a goal we should all have. Vilifying a product that can help us do that with disinformation isn't helping. My latest for AGDAILY

... See MoreSee Less

Social media is wrong to vilify Apeel's shelf-life technique | AGDAILY

www.agdaily.com

Apeel is a useful tool to safely and effectively extend the shelf life of fresh produce, yet activists aim to denigrate this remedy to food waste.

View on Facebook

·
Share



Share on Facebook



Share on Twitter



Share on Linked In



Share by Email

The Farmer's Daughter

2 weeks ago

The Farmer's Daughter

My biggest concern is one of the honorable mentions--gobbling up productive farmland and turning it into something else. What about you? What concerns you most as a threat to agriculture?

... See MoreSee Less

The 6 biggest threats to farming on a global scale | AGDAILY

www.agdaily.com

As a society, we have a responsibility to understand the urgency of the “C’s” and act accordingly -- to think globally and act locally.

View on Facebook

·
Share



Share on Facebook



Share on Twitter



Share on Linked In



Share by Email

The Farmer's Daughter

2 weeks ago

The Farmer's Daughter

Last week the Supreme Court dished out a blow by upholding California's Prop 12. I break down the opinion and what it all means here:

... See MoreSee Less

Breaking down the SCOTUS opinion upholding Prop 12 | AGDAILY

www.agdaily.com

Given the recent SCOTUS appointments, it was hard to anticipate how it would rule on the challenge to California's Prop 12.

View on Facebook

·
Share



Share on Facebook



Share on Twitter



Share on Linked In



Share by Email

Latest on Instagram

thefarmersdaughterusa

I'm Amanda. My family farms corn and soybeans in Southwest Michigan. I'm an attorney by day, and "agvocate" at night.

Amanda Zaluckyj
Consumers are feeling the pinch, and so are farmer Consumers are feeling the pinch, and so are farmers. The increased costs for #plant23 stem from higher seed, fertilizer, chemical, and land costs. Farmers are also paying higher interest rates. And keep in mind that #plant22 was also more costly than pre-COVID times.

#agriculture #hardtimes #plant23 #plant2023 #sustainableag #economicsustainabilty #usagriculture #usfarms #usfarmers
I don't know who needs this today, but here's Misc I don't know who needs this today, but here's Mischa with the sadest puppy-dog eyes and adorable belly rolls. 😍😍

#Mischa #dogsofinstagram #dogs #bellyrubs
Food labeling matters. Here's why. #food #foodlab Food labeling matters. Here's why.

#food #foodlabels #foodlabelsmatter #knowyourfarmer #knowyourfood
Just in case you're not sure why I miss my straigh Just in case you're not sure why I miss my straight hair. It randomly failed to curl last week. This was the beautiful result. 😍

#cancersurvivor #chemocurls #farmersdaughterstrong #bebrave
Don't let anyone tell you that farmers (yes, even Don't let anyone tell you that farmers (yes, even conventional farmers) don't care about soil health. The truth is, farmers are *obsessed* with it.

#farming #agriculture #healthysoil #soilhealth #sustainableag #sustainableagriculture #modernagriculture #modernag
Modern planting is a lot more sophisticated than j Modern planting is a lot more sophisticated than just placing seeds in the ground. Our equipment actually allows us to control how many plants we want per acre, precisely spaces each corn seed in the rows, and controls how deep the seed is planted. It's all part of precision agriculture that employs high-tech sensors and data to improve efficiency and yields.

#farming #modernagriculture #corn #cornplanting #plant23 #plant2023 #plant #farms #sustainable #sustainableagriclture #themoreyouknow💫 #usagriculture
Perspective. Last week I was in the cancer center Perspective.

Last week I was in the cancer center for routine labs and a port flush. Unfortunately, my port wasn't working. There's al these little "tricks" the nurse tries to open it up. One of those was putting different pressure on it. Needless to say, it hurt! And it didn't work. So she had to get something called TPA, put it in the line, and let it work--something that takes at least a half hour.

So there I sat for half an hour. In pain. A bit nauseous. And missing a work meeting. As you can imagine, I wasn't super happy about any of it.

But then came a voice over the hospital's intercom system (something that NEVER happens). There was a Code Blue in the neo-natal center. I asked my nurse what that meant. She said a baby was born without breathing. The doctors would do everything they could to resuscitate, and the Code Blue meant everyone who was available to help was supposed to report there immediately. 💔

Perspective. 

I was still in pain, nauseous, and missing my meeting. But at least I wasn't facing what those parents were facing. So I said a prayer for them and adjusted my attitude. My port started working, the nurse did her job, and I was on my way. 

A little reminder to keep things in perspective. 💜

#perspective #cancersucks #cancersurvior #farmersdaughterstrong #bekind
Seriously, there's no reason to worry about pestic Seriously, there's no reason to worry about pesticide residue on fresh produce. The EPA regulates the use of pesticides to make sure U.S. farmers use them safely. And the USDA takes annual samples to make sure what's on store shelves meets those safety standards. 

It's always recommended to wash produce before eating it though--because you never know who else touched it.

 Most importantly, eat and enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables! 🍐🍇🍌🥝🥦🫑🧅🍅

#agriculture #usagriculture #farmers #usfarmers #farming #farmfamilies #sustainableag #sustainableagriculture #sustainable #sustainability #farmerscare #homegrown #localagriculture #knowyourfarmer #shoplocal #madeintheusa #madeintheus #americanagriculture
Every kernel of corn, red tomato, and juicy peach Every kernel of corn, red tomato, and juicy peach that comes off our farm is part of us. 💜

#agriculture #usagriculture #farmers #usfarmers #farming #farmfamilies #sustainableag #sustainableagriculture #sustainable #sustainability #farmerscare #homegrown #localagriculture #knowyourfarmer #shoplocal #madeintheusa #madeintheus #americanagriculture
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Website Design By Jumping Jax Designs

Go to mobile version