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.
Congress will once again delay passage of a new Farm Bill.The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to extend the current 2002 Farm Bill until April 18. The Farm Bill covers a wide array of federal agriculture programs including crop subsidies, conservation programs and food stamps.
Iowa farmers are busy preparing for spring planting, but they’ll be left guessing how the Farm Bill may affect their crop management decisions.
Once the extension is passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, Congress will attempt to come to an agreement on spending for the five-year, $280 billion Farm Bill. Disagreements on a total spending limit for the bill and certain tax provisions have bogged down progress since the House and Senate passed their versions of the bill last year.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said in a statement that Congress needs more time to come to an agreement on spending and “obtain the necessary cooperation from the White House.” Harkin said, “There is still a considerable amount of work ahead before we can pass a bill.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who also serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee, told reporters in a conference call Tuesday that he’s confident that progress is being made on the bill. “There’s more positive talk right now than ever before, but it won’t be done by Friday,” said Grassley. “There’s a much more positive feeling around here of getting something done yet this spring.”
Grassley said that disagreements about tax provisions have been the major sticking points that have delayed the bill. “There are just a couple of areas of major disagreement,” he said, adding that there are still minor disagreements over conservation and nutrition programs.
Grassley also said he would continue fighting for limits on the amount of money that individuals can receive in commodity subsidy payments. He said he would continue to push Farm Bill conferees to include payment limits in the final bill. He said his efforts were aimed at keeping the issue alive, “to keep reminding conferees that the Senate had a 56-vote majority for this when the Farm Bill was up and to keep hammering away wherever we can to remind people that what’s in the bill is not real reform.”
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