Agriculture Archives - Page 4 of 13

Daines, Rosendale Efforts to Have USDA Open CRP for Emergency Haying and Grazing to Help with Drought Pays Off

July 15, 2021

U.S. SENATE — Following a push by U.S. Senator Steve Daines and Representative Matt Rosendale, USDA has announced it will open Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land in Montana for emergency haying and grazing. “I am pleased to see the USDA listen to my request for this emergency assistance for our farmers and ranchers as we face extreme drought conditions. The USDA should not stop here. We need them to go farther and designate ALL Montana counties as primary natural disaster areas and provide farmers and ranchers additional resources and support,” Daines said. “As Montana experiences historic drought conditions, the Montana agriculture community is

Daines, Rosendale Continue Push for Emergency Relief for Montana Farmers, Ranchers During Drought

July 12, 2021

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines and Congressman Matt Rosendale today urged USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to approve Governor Greg Gianforte’s request to designate ALL counties in Montana as primary natural disaster areas due to extreme drought conditions. The letter also includes a request for the authorization of emergency haying and grazing on Conservation Reserve Program land to provide additional forage for livestock. “As you know, over 90% of Montana is facing drought conditions with eastern Montana significantly impacted. Designating Montana counties as primary natural disaster areas will ensure Montana farmers and ranchers can access critical resources and USDA programs to manage these challenging conditions. Additionally, authorizing emergency haying and grazing

Daines, Rosendale Urge Biden to Allow Emergency Grazing in the MT Refuge

June 30, 2021

U.S. CONGRESS — U.S. Senator Steve Daines and Congressman Matt Rosendale today urged the Biden administration to open the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge for emergency livestock grazing due to extreme drought conditions in Montana. “According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the majority of counties in northeast Montana are experiencing historic, extreme drought conditions threatening the livelihood of rural communities and devastating agricultural operations. We respectfully urge you to immediately allow livestock grazing to be permitted on retired grazing allotments within the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge (CMR) to mitigate hardships felt by ranchers due to the drought,” the letter states. “While 88% of Montana

Daines Defends Montana’s Right to Energy and Agriculture Exports

May 21, 2021

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines reintroduced a bill that would prevent blue states from politicizing the water certification process and shutting down projects such as the Millennium Bulk Terminal, which could have created hundreds of Montana jobs, including tribal jobs, by expanding trade opportunities for Montana coal. “With President Biden’s attacks on made in America energy, it is critical that Congress removes unnecessary roadblocks that are locking up Montana’s rich natural resources,” Daines said. “Washington State abused the water quality certification process to block the Millennium Bulk Terminal, which would have created high paying jobs for Montanans including the Crow Tribe, and had the potential to provide

Daines Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Prevent Burdensome Regulations on Montana Agriculture, Livestock Haulers

March 30, 2021

U.S. SENATE —U.S. Senator Steve Daines introduced the bipartisan “Modernizing Agricultural Transportation Act,” which would delay enforcement of the Hours of Service (HOS) and Electronic Logging Device (ELD) regulations until reforms are proposed by the Transportation Secretary. The bill creates a solution for Montana ag and livestock haulers that will help keep our roads safe and remove burdensome regulations from their operations. “Montana’s ag haulers should be able to transport their products efficiently and safely. Providing this needed certainty and flexibility to our ag and livestock haulers will help to remove unnecessary burdens that negatively impact our ranchers while also keeping our roads safe,” Daines said. In addition to Daines, the legislation is cosponsored by

Daines Fights for Farmers and Ranchers, Prioritizes Montana Ag

March 25, 2021

U.S. SENATE —U.S. Senator Steve Daines this week cosponsored bipartisan bills to increase transparency in the cattle market and cut red tape for Montana’s ag and livestock haulers. To download the video statement, click HERE. “Montana agriculture is part of our way of life. These bills will help ensure Montana farmers and ranchers can compete on a level playing field in the marketplace by improving transparency in cattle markets and removing unworkable and burdensome regulations to transporting agriculture and livestock in a timely manner,” Daines stated. Daines cosponsored the following bills: HAULS Act: This bipartisan legislation will ensure federal law does not prevent ag and livestock haulers from

Daines, Tester, Rosendale Bill to Fund Dam to Provide Water to Farmers and Ranchers

March 12, 2021

U.S. CONGRESS – Today, U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester and Congressman Matt Rosendale introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to provide much needed funding to Montana water infrastructure. The bill, “St. Mary’s Reinvestment Act,” legislation will ensure the St. Mary’s Diversion Dam receives $52 million for rehabilitation efforts, and require the Bureau of Reclamation’s (BoR) to use an ability-to-pay study on what the current water users could afford to pay for the project and set the cost share for the rehabilitation based on that study. “Farmers and ranchers’

USDA Announces Financial Assistance for Montana Producers Impacted by Natural Disasters

January 7, 2021

U.S. SENATE—U.S. Senator Steve Daines shared that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that Montana’s farmers affected by natural disasters in 2018 and 2019 will be eligible to apply for the Quality Loss Adjustment (QLA) Program to receive funds that will help alleviate financial loss due to severe weather incidents. “This is long overdue for our farmers in Northeast Montana who have faced excessive rain and substantial flooding in the past few years,” Daines said. “I am thankful that the USDA has granted access to this vital program that will help our producers get back on their feet after devastating

Daines Bill Providing Permanent Tax Relief for Montana Breweries, Distilleries Signed Into Law

December 29, 2020

U.S. SENATE—U.S. Senator Steve Daines’ bipartisan bill supporting Montana breweries and distilleries across the state was recently signed into law. Daines’ bill, the “Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act,” provides permanent tax relief for small craft breweries and distilleries, supporting jobs across Montana. “In Montana, we’re home to some of the best craft breweries in the country. Now, with my bipartisan bill being signed into law, these small businesses will have permanent tax relief which will create jobs across Montana and support our Montana barley growers,” Daines said. Daines’ bill makes the excise tax relief enacted by the “2017 Tax

Daines, Tester Bipartisan Bill Settling Century Long Montana Water Dispute Passes Senate, Heads to President’s Desk

December 21, 2020

U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester today celebrated Senate passage of their bipartisan bill, the “Montana Water Rights Protection Act.” The bill will permanently settle the century long CSKT water dispute, support Montana jobs, modernize rural infrastructure and protect the water rights of all Montanans. “After years of hard work, the U.S. Senate just passed our bipartisan bill that permanently resolves the century long CSKT water dispute, and will soon become law. Without our bill, thousands of Montanans would be forced into very expensive litigation and our ag economy would’ve taken over a one billion dollar hit,” Daines said. “That’s why we’ve worked so hard to pass

Tag: Agriculture