Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
Bill Richardson has pledged to bring fairness back to federal farm policies.
The New Mexico governor and Democratic presidential candidate rolled out a set of rural policy proposals Tuesday in western Iowa, focusing on renewable energy, conservation and a promise to "level the playing field for family farmers and independent producers."
One of Richardson's key advisers on farm policy is quite familiar with Iowa. New Mexico agriculture secretary Dr. Miley Gonzalez is a former Iowa State University professor who spent nine years in the 1980s working with county agricultural extension programs all across the state. He was appointed to his current position by Richardson five years ago.
In an interview Tuesday with Iowa Independent, Gonzalez said Richardson's plan for agriculture will unlock the potential for rural America presented by renewable fuels. "We're taking advantage of his background in energy," Gonzalez said. "He's really focused on clean energy, energy jobs and renewables." Gonzalez said New Mexico has been "following the Iowa model" in the development of renewable energy for the past five years, and he said Richardson, a former Energy Secretary in the Clinton administration, has a proven track record as a leader in energy policy.
Richardson's plan would introduce new tax credits as an incentive for the development of new energy infrastructure, as well as tax credits for wind, solar and biofuels production.
But it's not all about energy. Richardson also promises a new "fair deal" for farmers.
Gonzalez said Richardson's plan would cap farm commodity subsidies at $250,000, "re-directing those supports from the large agribusiness approach" so that "family farms are getting that benefit, folks that are actually on the land and farming." Richardson would also cap payments under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program at $240,000.
Richardson would sign a ban on meatpacker ownership of livestock and "close loopholes in the Packers and Stockyards Act," which would increase competition and fair markets for independent livestock producers. The proposal would also end mandatory arbitration as the only way to resolve disputes in livestock production contracts, permit collective bargaining between growers and corporations, and tighten regulations on livestock sales reporting.
"Having run a state, I know that you cannot just focus on the problems that the newspapers write about," Richardson said in a press release announcing the agriculture plan. "Every community matters, whether it is big or small, urban or rural. I have worked to solve the problems of all my state's people, not just those in the big cities, and I will bring that experience to the White House."
To read the text of Richardson's speech on agriculture policy,click here.
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