Issue Position: Fighting for Farmers in the United States Senate

Issue Position

Local Farms, Food and Jobs Act - Sen. Tester introduced the BFROA to institute a broad spectrum of policies to help build local and regional food systems. Several of these policies were incorporated into the Farm Bill, including a crop insurance policy for small, diversified farms like those that often sell to farmers markets, and the creation of a local marketing promotion program.

Food Safety - Sen. Tester included an amendment to the Food Safety Modernization Act to ensure that small, local farmers and food manufacturers continue to be regulated at the state and local level.

Sugar Program - Sen. Tester fought to defeat proposed amendments to the 2012 Farm Bill that would have dismantled assistance for Montana sugar producers.

Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act - Sen. Tester introduced the BFROA to institute a broad spectrum of policies to help producers starting out in agriculture. Several of these policies were incorporated into the Farm Bill, including funding for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, and the creation of a Military Veterans' Agriculture Liaison.

ATTRA - Sen. Tester fought to restore funding for the Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) program after it was stripped out in a continuing resolution. The program provides critical technical assistance to family-scale producers, and is operated through a cooperative agreement with National Center for Appropriate Technology based in Butte, MT.

MF Global -Sen. Tester continues to fight to hold Wall Street accountable for MF Global's bankruptcy, and the resulting loss of money belonging to Montana farmers and ranchers. Sen. Tester successfully pushed to deny bonuses to former MF Global executives, and questioned JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on that firms involvement with the crisis.

Camelina Crop Insurance- Sen. Tester included a pilot crop insurance policy for camelina in the 2007 Farm Bill, which has now been implemented in most Montana counties.

High Fructose Corn Syrup - Sen. Tester successfully fought a proposal to rename high fructose corn syrup as "corn sugar" on food labels.

Open Fields - Sen. Tester successfully introduced a bill authorizing assistance to producers who wish to make their land available to sportsmen, and fought to restore funding after it had been eliminated.

Value Added assistance - Sen. Tester introduced a bill to aid farmers who wish to transition to organic agriculture, and fought to keep funding available through the Organic Certification Cost-Share Program.

Biobased Manufacturing Bill - Sen. Tester introduced the "Grow It Here, Make It Here Biobased Manufacting Bill" to promote the renewable chemicals industry, which produces chemicals domestically from agricultural products. The majority of the bill was incorporated into the 2012 Farm Bill.

Renewable Fuels Standard - After voting for the Renewable Fuels Standard, Sen. Tester has consistently fought to ensure that government assistance is focused on fuels from emerging crops like camelina, and not the already mature markets for corn ethanol.

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