Farm Bill Statement
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EmailA statement on the farm bill from the leaders of CANR, AgBioResearch and Extension.
On behalf of the Michigan State University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, AgBioResearch and MSU Extension, we are grateful for the bipartisan support for the farm bill. This bill provides sustained support for Michigan farmers and continues support for some of our state’s most vulnerable populations through programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. We appreciate the leadership shown by U.S. Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts and our own U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Debbie Stabenow, both of whom have taken time to listen to concerns, reflect and move forward with this critically important work.
We applaud the efforts of Congress to keep protections in place for farmers and communities as well as looking to those in crisis, such as dairy farmers, who will receive added protections under the new farm bill. The effort to combat animal diseases gives our research the continuity it needs to be effective. An eye toward urban and indoor farming also recognizes that agriculture is changing significantly and new efforts need to be made. We celebrate an increase in mandatory research and extension funding and a bipartisan farm bill that provides certainty for Michigan’s food and agriculture community. We look forward to the president signing the 2018 farm bill into law very soon.
