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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

A Call To Boost Local Foods in 2018 Farm Bill

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Tuesday, February 6, 2018   

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Federal lawmakers are ramping up their work on the 2018 Farm Bill, and some Ohio farm groups and producers say measures to boost local foods should be included.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, says the Local FARMS Act he introduced in the Senate can help family farmers and local growers reach new markets and improve access to fresh foods for Ohioans.

That was the exact mission of Betsy Anderson and others in Wooster when they created Local Roots Market and Café eight years ago.

"The connection to the food is just so different when you grow it yourself," Anderson says. "And our market gives people an opportunity to meet with the farmers and really see exactly where their food's coming from. People just seem really happy."

The Local FARMS Act includes investments in programs such as the Local Food Promotion Program, which Local Roots has utilized to enhance its cooperative over the years.

The House Committee on Agriculture is holding a hearing on the 2018 Farm Bill today.

Anderson says Local Roots and the area economy have both benefited as a result of funding from the program. She explains the market was able to expand its advertising, and bring in more local shoppers and sellers.

"The producers are from our communities," she notes. "We had about 200 already selling products, and then we got up to 284. And sales continue to increase. We saw a bit over half a million dollars a year in local product."

According to USDA data, more than 167,000 U.S. farms produced and sold food through farmers markets and other similar channels in 2015, generating nearly $9 billion in earnings for local producers. The 2018 Farm Bill could move to the full House by mid-March and be in the Senate in May.


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