Issue Position: Farm Policy

Issue Position

Pam's roots in North Dakota's land and community run deep. A life-long resident of the state, she learned early on the values of hard work and dedication to family and community while growing up on the family dairy farm in Crete. Pam and her husband Bill are partners in a farm and ranching business near Rutland, in southeastern ND, with their three sons, Lance, Cody and Cameron.

While North Dakota's economy has diversified into fast-growing sectors like energy and technology, agriculture remains its backbone. As a longtime farmer and rancher, Pam understands how important a strong farm program is to our Agriculture economy.

Agriculture drives the world's economy, and nowhere is that more evident than right here in North Dakota. Our state fuels and feeds the nation. Farm Bill spending makes up only three-tenths of one-percent of our federal budget, yet the security of the nation's food supply depends on a sound farm policy that provides a safety net whenever adverse weather and market conditions wreak havoc with a farmer or rancher's best-made plans.

Today, Congress is too often incapable of coming together for the common good. When lawmakers spend more time making sure votes embarrass their opponents than solving problems, our economy and future prosperity suffer. Pam will stand up for our state and be an independent voice for farmers and ranchers in Congress.

Farm Bill

If we miss the September 30th deadline for renewing the Farm Bill, the farm program will revert to the out-of-date 1949 legislation. Producers need to know the shape the Farm Bill is going to take before making their planting and financial decisions for the coming year.
Just as a businesses cannot operate efficiently if government is constantly levying new regulations, farmers, ranchers, and all the businesses that rely on North Dakota's agriculture economy can't feed our nation and our world without knowing the rules or whether they have a safety net.
It's clear that House leadership would like to delay the Farm Bill until after the November election. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor didn't even mention the Farm Bill in his list of priorities for July.
The House must act quickly to pass a Farm Bill that maintains a good safety net and conservation programs for farmers and ranchers, especially here in North Dakota.
The Ryan budget would slash crop insurance by $30 billion and reduce the USDA's budget by $180 billion over 10 years.
Crop Insurance

North Dakota farmers are especially susceptible to natural disasters like storms, high winds, and flooding.
The current public-private crop insurance partnership works for our state. North Dakota received about $1.5 billion in crop insurance indemnity payments in 2011, and those payments kept many of our producers financially solvent.

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