Senator Salazar Supports Family Farming as the Farm Bill Moves Forward

“We want to commend Senator Ken Salazar for his unwavering support of America’s family farmers and ranchers as the Senate Farm Bill moves into the joint House and Senate conference committee,” said Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU) President Kent Peppler, a Mead, Colo., farmer. “Salazar supported permanent disaster relief, and he was instrumental in passing the interim disaster relief earlier this year that eased the financial burden on producers hit by snow, drought, and tornado losses. He supported the successful push to put teeth in county-of-origin labeling (COOL), to increase spending on conservation and renewable energy, and nutrition programs. Salazar navigated the compromises necessary to securing passage of the Farm Bill while keeping his eye on the fate and economic well-being of America’s family farmers and ranchers.”

Friday the U.S. Senate passed a Farm Bill plagued with hundreds of proposed amendments and threatened with filibusters and a Presidential veto. The bill now goes to a joint House and Senate conference committee to create a compromise for passage in early January. “Both houses of Congress supported the key policies important to RMFU,” Peppler said, “so we are confident, with Senator Salazar’s hard work, that we will have a Farm Bill that protects family farmers, American consumers, and rural economies.”