farm bill

Mark Guttridge, farmer and co-owner at Ollin Farms, feeds the chickens. The farm benefits from a county program that helps small growers get their produce to more people.

A big idea for small farms: How to link agriculture, nutrition and public health

9:05am February 03, 2024

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

In Boulder, Colo., the county is investing in sustainable farming and helping people buy local produce. It's been called "a triple win" – for customers, farmers and the economy.

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Lee Nunn says he uses a lot of precision agriculture on his Georgia farm to save resources.

Precision agriculture technology helps farmers - but they need help

6:52pm April 27, 2023

by Stephen Fowler

Some farmers hope this year's federal Farm Bill brings more attention to the benefits of - and barriers to - precision agriculture technology.

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Politics & Government

North Carolina 2019 Farm Bill Finally Approved, Omits Controversies

9:47am June 05, 2020

by Associated Press

North Carolina legislators have finally completed the General Assembly's annual agriculture policy bill, albeit the one that was first debated in 2019.

After being stalled in negotiations for months, mostly around disputes over SNAP, the farm bill the conference report has been released.

Farm Bill Compromise Reached With SNAP Changes Out, Industrial Hemp In

4:16pm December 11, 2018

While much of the farm bill draft mirrors current law, there is a major change coming for farmers: Industrial hemp will be legalized. Forestry and food stamps became sticking points.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, right, answers a reporters question after touring fire ravaged Paradise, Calif. with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, center. The pair advocated more aggressive forest management policies to mitigate damage from future wi

Fast-Tracking Logging On Federal Lands May Not Lessen Wildfire Risk

5:36pm November 28, 2018

by Kirk Siegler

The current version of the Farm Bill includes House-backed provisions that would streamline logging projects on federal land. The administration argues logging could mitigate wildfire risk.

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Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, left, speaks with Ranking Member Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., during a meeting of the committee in June, to consider a bipartisan farm bill.

Trump Weighs In On SNAP Work Requirements Ahead Of Farm Bill Meeting

5:36pm September 05, 2018

by Brakkton Booker

The SNAP program, commonly referred to as food stamps, is the biggest sticking point between versions of the Farm Bill. The House, and President Trump, want it to have stricter work requirements.

Dean Norton, the director of horticulture at Mount Vernon, stands in front of the plot of hemp grown this year.

Politics & Government

After Centuries, Hemp Makes A Comeback At George Washington's Home

3:00pm August 23, 2018

by Brakkton Booker

George Washington grew cannabis. Not the kind you toke, but the kind to make rope. Industrial hemp was returned to Mount Vernon this year to help cultivate a new image for the crop.

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Politics & Government

Bill Blocking Future Hog Farm Nuisance Suits Finalized

10:24am June 15, 2018

by Gary D. Robertson, Associated Press

North Carolina legislators have finalized tougher restrictions upon neighbors of hog farms seeking to sue for damages because of the stench and other nuisances coming from industrial-scale livestoc

House Speaker Paul Ryan praises the Agriculture Committee's work on the farm bill at a press conference on Wednesday. He was joined by (from left) committee Chairman Mike Conaway, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Majority

House Farm Bill Fails As Conservatives Revolt Over Immigration

2:38pm May 18, 2018

by Kelsey Snell

Disputes over immigration and food stamps doomed the measure. Every Democrat and 30 Republicans voted against the bill.

The House bill calls for $65 million in loans and grants, administered by the USDA, to establish "association-style" health plans that likely wouldn't have to cover hospitalization, prescription drugs or emergency care.

Farm Bill Could Undo Part Of The Affordable Care Act

5:00am May 08, 2018

by Julie Appleby

A provision now in the House's bill would help agricultural groups set up association health plans. Such plans, favored alternatives of the GOP, aim to reduce health care costs for small groups.