Former UN Secretary-General Annan’s Words Ring True in America

July 6, 2011Blog

By Jordan Hergenreder, NFU Intern National Farmers Union has long believed that long-term, sustainable rural economic development depends on the share that farmers receive from the sale of food. On June 25, 2011, Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General, echoed this sentiment as he addressed global food and nutrition security issues at the Food and … Read More

Minnesota Farmers hear from renewable energy experts at UM-Morris

July 3, 2011Blog

By Jan Ahlen, NFU Climate and Energy Coordinator On Wednesday, the renewable energy tour moved on to the University of Minnesota-Morris. Farmers Union members attended a series of panel discussions followed by a tour of the university’s renewable energy facilities. Various relevant stakeholders participated on the panels. Farmers heard from participants of the renewable energy … Read More

Celebrating Our Independence

July 1, 2011Blog

By Laura Demmel, NFU Executive Assistant Americans are so lucky. We have a rich history, painted with images of wise and courageous founders; sacrifices of millions of soldiers fighting for our liberties and our territory; dust-blown, idle farms and starving Americans of the 1930s; happy, comfortable families living the American dream; and countless other pleasant … Read More

Despite Critics, E15 Label Moves Closer to the Pump

June 29, 2011Blog

By Jeremy Peters, NFU Government Relations Representative Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the much anticipated label for E15.  While the label is a positive step forward, much work remains to make E15 ready for prime time. First, the label itself–a tremendous improvement over previous versions– could be further improved. For example, the … Read More

Bee-atrice Makes an Appearance at National Pollinator Week

June 28, 2011Blog

By Amy Czerniak, NFU Intern Last week was National Pollinator Week, a time to increase awareness about the importance of pollinators, the role they play in agriculture, and how they affect consumers. Thursday brought about the National Pollinator Week briefing and a day full of activities for the intern volunteers helping with the event, including NFU … Read More

One Year Later, the GIPSA Rule Needs Your Help

June 23, 2011Blog

After one year, 60,000 comments and reams of press releases later, a rule that would put common sense rules back into the livestock market place still has not been finalized and implemented. NFU members are urged to call the White House this week to ask the Obama Administration implement these rules now. On June 22, … Read More

Proposed National Leafy Green Marketing Agreement is the Wrong Direction for Food Safety

June 21, 2011Blog

By Brittany Jablonsky, NFU Government Relations Representative The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) recently issued its proposed rule to establish a proposed national marketing agreement regulating leafy green vegetables. This rulemaking was the result of a request by the largest players in the leafy greens industry, who petitioned USDA to write … Read More

Miss America Stands Up for Agriculture

June 20, 2011Blog

By Amy Czerniak, NFU Intern Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan, and Larry Combest, former Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee, hosted an intern luncheon Tuesday, June 14 in conjunction with The Hand That Feeds Us. I attended with great curiosity about what her message would be for that particular audience: young people … Read More

Putting the Brakes on Rising Gas Prices

June 16, 2011Blog

By Roger Johnson, NFU President In his original designs, Henry Ford believed that American automobiles would run on domestically produced, renewable ethanol. Today, however, Big Oil continues to enjoy $40 billion annually in subsidies and Americans are struggling to pay $4.00 per gallon of gasoline at the pump. Every year, we send $337 billion to … Read More