Nebraska Farm Bureau Seeks Extension For Farm Bill Sign-Up

Feb 26, 2015

The Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation (NFBF) is asking U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to provide farmers more time to evaluate and make decisions on farm programs associated with the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill. The new farm bill brought many changes to farm programs and decisions related to those programs are currently required to be made by the end of February, while others must be made by the end of March.

“Over the past several months Farm Bureau has had the opportunity to work one-on-one with farmers across the state to see how changes in farm bill programs might affect them and how different options might fit into their risk management strategies. While Nebraska seems to be equal or ahead of states in terms of sign-up, providing additional time would be beneficial to many farmers here in Nebraska and across the country,” said Steve Nelson, Nebraska Farm Bureau president.

In a Feb. 24 letter to Sec. Vilsack, Nelson asked the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to give farmers until April 30, 2015 to make decisions related to base acre reallocations, yield updates and all other commodity related farm program decisions.

Click here to see more...

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.