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Illinois Farm Bureau commends Senate, House ag committees on passage
of farm bill
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[May 20, 2013]
BLOOMINGTON -- Calling it an
important step in securing the future and stability of American
agriculture, the Illinois Farm Bureau is applauding the U.S. Senate
and House agriculture committees on their passage of bipartisan farm
bills.
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 "Farmers throughout Illinois depend on the farm bill to help
provide stability and manage risk in what is often a risky
profession," said Philip Nelson, president of the Illinois Farm
Bureau.
In particular, Nelson pointed out enhanced crop insurance
provisions in the Senate version of the bill.
"Crop insurance is essential for effective risk management,"
Nelson said. "That was borne out during the 2012 drought. There
are no federal farm disaster programs in place. Purchasing crop
insurance will enable many farmers who lost crops in the drought
to farm for another year."
The Senate bill would reduce the federal deficit by $23
billion by ending direct payments. The House bill would reduce
the federal deficit by roughly $40 billion.
The committees' approval of the farm bill is just the first
step in the process, added Nelson. Now that the bill has made it
through both committees, both the Senate and House must call,
vote on and pass their respective bills before the two can be
combined and sent to President Obama to be signed into law.
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"We want to commend Illinois Representatives Rodney Davis (R-13th
District), William Enyart (D-12th District) and Cheri Bustos (D-17th
District) for their hard work in passing this bill," Nelson said.
"We urge both the Senate and House to move quickly in bringing this
legislation to the floor and voting on it. It's an important piece
of legislation that farmers and consumers alike depend on."
The Illinois Farm Bureau is a member of the American Farm Bureau
Federation, a national organization of farmers and ranchers. Founded
in 1916, IFB is a nonprofit, membership organization controlled by
farmers who join through their county farm bureaus. IFB has a total
membership of 412,177, a voting membership of 82,550 and represents
2 out of 3 Illinois farmers.
[Text from file received from
Illinois Farm Bureau] |
