Six members of the Colorado Congressional delegation are urging Senate and House Agriculture Committee leaders to pass a five-year Farm Bill. In a letter today, the bipartisan group of Colorado members called the bill crucial for farmers, ranchers, and rural economies across the state.
Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall and Representatives Scott Tipton, Mike Coffman, Cory Gardner and Ed Perlmutter wrote to Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow and Ranking Member Thad Cochran and House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Frank D. Lucas and Ranking Member Collin C. Peterson.
The members expressed support for the Farm Bills passed by the Senate and the House Agriculture Committees last year and urged the leaders to build on those successes by continuing to craft a food and fiber policy that boosts rural economies in Colorado and across the nation.
“We believe the Farm Bill represents a tremendous opportunity to support one of Colorado’s and America’s most crucial economic engines, to provide relief to farmers and ranchers affected by historic drought conditions, and to make a meaningful contribution toward national debt and deficit reduction goals,” the members wrote. “Reauthorizing this important legislation would inject certainty into the entire food supply chain—from processors, to transporters, to consumers—and provide farmers and ranchers with the tools they need to manage the dry conditions and to plan for the future.”
The call for a Farm Bill comes on the heels of the worst drought in decades. The bills passed by the Senate and the House Agriculture Committee last year have important provisions—including revamped conservation programs and fully-paid for livestock disaster assistance—designed to help Colorado producers manage dry growing conditions.
Last June, the Senate passed the 2012 Farm Bill and the House Agriculture Committee passed its version of the bill last July.
Click here to read the letter from Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall and Representatives Scott Tipton, Mike Coffman, Cory Gardner and Ed Perlmutter.