On April 26, 2012, The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry officially approved the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012. The bill makes major reforms to agricultural policy, eliminates direct payments, streamlines and consolidates programs, and reduces the deficit by $23 billion. For more information about the 2012 Farm Bill, including summaries and legislative text, please visit our Farm Bill page.
This hearing will evaluate the need for and cost effectiveness of risk management tools available to farmers and how the federal government can provide appropriate risk management tools while making the best use of limited resources. Acting Undersecretary Michael Scuse, of USDA's Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services, will be among those testifying.
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry, and Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), the Committee’s Ranking Member, today said that the USDA’s proven firewalls and internationally recognized safeguards that protect against potential cases of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) worked as intended. Earlier today, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced an atypical result on a random test of a dairy cow at a rendering plant in California. USDA confirmed there was no threat to the public health, no danger to the nation’s food supply and that BSE cannot be spread through milk.... Read more.
