General Farm Commodities and Risk Management

Washington, D.C. – Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) welcomed newly-confirmed U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Sec. Sonny Perdue to Capitol Hill to testify on the “State of the Rural Economy.” Following the hearing, Chairman Conaway made the below statement: “Against the backdrop of a four-year, 50-percent decline in net farm income, Sec. Perdue’s comments today rightly recognized the concern of America’s farmers and ranchers and the many challenges face... Read more

Today, Rep. Rick Crawford (AR-1), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management, held a hearing to further examine the effectiveness of farm policy in advance of crafting the next farm bill. Members of the committee heard from witnesses who shared the perspectives of the cotton, rice, peanut, canola, and sugar industries on the importance of both commodity policy and crop insurance. This hearing continues the committee’s hearing series... Read more

Remarks as prepared for delivery: Good morning and welcome to today’s hearing. This hearing is a continuation of the series we have been holding over the past month in preparation for the next farm bill. Over the course of the next several months, we will be working to improve upon the 2014 Farm Bill and ensure the needs of not only American farmers and ranchers are being met, but that consumers will continue to benefit from sound and stable farm policy. Last week we heard from producers of corn... Read more

Today, Rep. Rick Crawford (AR-1), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management, held a hearing to evaluate the effectiveness of farm policy in advance of crafting the next farm bill. Members heard from producers who discussed the importance of both commodity policy and crop insurance. This hearing continues the committee’s hearing series to set the stage for the next farm bill. “A farm bill is written to be an aid for producers during... Read more

Remarks as prepared for delivery: This is the first hearing of the General Farm Commodities and Risk Management subcommittee in preparation for the next farm bill. Over the course of the next year, we will be examining the policies under our jurisdiction so we can improve upon the 2014 Farm Bill and make sure that the needs of not only American farmers and ranchers are being met, but so that consumers will continue to benefit from a stable farm policy. In agriculture it is often said that “the c... Read more

Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX), along with Ranking Member Peterson (D-MN), Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) and Rep. David Scott (D-GA) sent a bipartisan letter to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Tim Massad expressing concern with the CFTC’s proposed exemptive order for the Southwest Power Pool, Inc. and the proposed amendment to a 2013 final order regarding six Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO) and Independent System Operators (IS... Read more

Remarks as prepared: Thank you all for being here for this hearing exploring Big Data and Agriculture: Innovation in the Air. This is our second hearing in a series to educate Members about the different facets of this new frontier in agriculture. Production agriculture from one hundred years ago is markedly different than it is today. While our farmers are still producing many of the same crops, a plow once pulled by a team of mules is now pulled by a tractor that satellites guide through the f... Read more

Today, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management held a hearing on the growing financial pressures faced by U.S. farmers and ranchers. Conditions in farm country today contrast sharply with those during the formulation of the 2014 Farm Bill. While high prices for many farm commodities led to tremendous growth in net farm income through 2013, many of those prices have spiraled downward over the past three years. Witnesses spoke broadly about th... Read more

Remarks as prepared: As many of you know, this is the first hearing in a series focused on the farm economy. Every subcommittee will play a role in highlighting current conditions on our farms and ranches and in rural America today. Today, the economic conditions in farm and ranch country are fundamentally different than the conditions we faced when we crafted the 2014 Farm Bill. In just three years, net farm income has fallen by 56 percent. You would need to go back to the start of the Great De... Read more

House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) announced today that the committee will begin a series of hearings titled Focus on the Farm Economy. Each of the six subcommittees will examine growing pressure in rural America from the perspective of the subcommittee. The first hearing in the series—Focus on the Farm Economy: Growing Farm Financial Pressure—will be this Thursday at 10:00 a.m. in 1300 Longworth before the General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee. Ov... Read more