skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

The Profit Factor for MT Farmers and Ranchers in the Farm Bill

play audio
Play

Thursday, April 26, 2007   


Washington D.C. - The Farm Bill could be just the medicine to help return Montana farming and ranching markets to one that reflects economic conditions, and encourages diversity with renewable energy production. The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee is listening to ideas this week. National Farmers Union President Tom Buis has testified that encouraging renewable energy production through the Farm Bill is a win-win proposition.

“[It would mean] bio-diesel, wind energy, and the opportunities for economic gains in rural America, not just for farmers, but for the rural communities.”

Farmers would also like to see the structure of direct farm payments changed to reflect economic conditions. Buis notes that right now, payments are made even if producers don't need them. Some grain and corn growers don't like the idea of changing direct payments, but Buis argues that returning agriculture to a market structure based on the economy is a path to profitability.

“I've never met a farmer or rancher that wouldn't prefer to get their income from the market, as opposed to the government. I strongly urged the committee to continue to move in those directions.”

Buis adds that there's also an opportunity to set up a fund for disaster relief, which is something that doesn't exist now and would mean years of legislative maneuvering and red tape.

“We've been waiting for three years to cover the losses of the 2005 crop year, and that just doesn't make sense.”



get more stories like this via email

more stories
Corporate partners sign contracts to offer a graduate assistantship and pay the students. In turn, MSU pays the graduate assistant's tuition, fees and salary, so the assistantship is directly tied to the academic experience. (pressmaster/Adobe Stock)

play sound

By Victoria Lim for WorkingNation.Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi for Missouri News Service reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Col…


Social Issues

play sound

A new report brands Connecticut's tax system as "regressive" for low- to middle-income residents and uses a report from the state to make its point…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Mental health care advocates are encouraging federal agencies to adopt a proposed update to regulations which would expand access to psychological car…


A draft rule would require Maryland employers to provide at least 32 ounces of water per hour to each employee exposed to heat stress conditions, every workday. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

With hotter summers bringing hotter working conditions, the Maryland Department of Labor is implementing a heat stress standard to protect workers …

Social Issues

play sound

The Amesbury School Committee will hear from educators and parents tonight as they rally to prevent more than $2 million in proposed cuts to their sch…

Out-of-state money is pouring into Texas as the contentious issue of "school choice" looms large ahead of November's election. (Dzmitry/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

By Jimmy Cloutier for OpenSecrets.Broadcast version by Roz Brown for Texas News Service reporting for the OpenSecrets-Public News Service Collaboratio…

Environment

play sound

Recreational fishermen in New England say commercial trawlers are threatening the survival of smaller businesses relying on a healthy stock of Atlanti…

Social Issues

play sound

Women are treated much differently than men by the criminal justice system, according to a new report detailing how and why mass incarceration is …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021