Readers' views
for May 17, 2013

Banking bill needs support I am a third-generation farmer who lives and farms in Kitsap County, Wash. I have been involved in agriculture the majority of my 70-plus years. I am writing as an appeal to Congress to reintroduce legislation known as the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act, which ...

High court decision protects innovation

Editorial The Supreme Court this week unanimously ruled against an Indiana farmer who argued that patents on biotech seed are exhausted once the crop is sold to a grain elevator. The ruling means that biotech developers like Monsanto can enforce patent protections to bar the planting of genetica ...

Indoor farms awash in red

Editorial Call them warehouse farms, literally. We're not talking about high-efficiency confinement buildings used by some livestock and poultry farmers. We're talking about a farm built in an old warehouse. Using hydroponic and aeroponic agriculture and other variations on the theme, warehouse ...

Research flows from food, farm and jobs bill

This year, USDA is committed to helping Congress get a comprehensive, multiyear Food, Farm and Jobs Bill passed as soon as possible. This is critical to provide certainty for U.S. producers, while giving USDA the tools we need to continue strengthening the rural economy. Without a Food, Farm and ...

Bureaucracy, not biology, drives ESA

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1,440 American plant and animal species are currently listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Another 182 species are candidates for listing. Yet only a handful have ever been removed from the list in the 40-year history ...

Issues entangle farm bill

Editorial Before the month is out both the House and Senate ag committees will begin markup sessions for the 2013 Farm Bill. Both promise, at least at the start, to look a lot like their ill-fated attempts to write and pass a bill last year. And that may well be the problem. Opponents of vario ...

Federal agencies play favorites

Editorial Here's a concept that appears to have lost favor among some federal agencies. The idea is that the federal government writes and enforces regulations and laws in a fair and neutral manner. No groups or individuals, regardless of their political persuasion, should get special treatment. A ...