Farm bill passed by congress

Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) president Nicole Berg, a wheat farmer from Paterson, Wash., has released the following statement:

“We are so pleased that this bill is finally on the books and on it’s way to the President. The compromises made will ensure that farmers have a true safety net during the hard years, that our foreign markets are maintained and enhanced, and it keeps incentive-based conservation programs funded. We thank our Washington members of Congress for their hard work and support of Washington’s wheat industry.”

National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) second vice president Brett Blankenship, a wheat farmer from Washtucna, Wash., added:

“NAWG would like to acknowledge the firm support of Washington state’s congressional delegation in bringing the new Farm Bill to final passage (both Senators, and 8/10 congressional representatives). The bipartisan bill accomplishes all that a good farm bill is supposed to do: it feeds the poorest among us, it provides the framework to feed the rest of the country and the rest of the world; and it helps keep family farmers on the land. The bill also provides conservation and habitat improvement tools for the environment and risk management tools for our family farms through crop insurance – and we accomplished all of this and still attained budget savings for deficit reduction.”