Agriculture & Rural Development
ALBANY, GA – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) welcomed the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement of a Federal Marketing Order (FMO) for pecans grown in 15 states, a self-help program funded by the pecan industry and administered by a new 17-member American Pecan Council for the benefit of the industry.
WASHINGTON, D.C. –Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), Member of the House Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after the full Appropriations Committee approved its Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill. The government spending bill now goes to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for its consideration.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, released the following statement after the full Appropriations Committee passed its Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 government spending bill. The government spending bill now goes to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for its consideration.
ALBANY, GA – Yesterday, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) successfully included language in the Fiscal Year 2017 Agriculture Appropriations Bill protecting pecan processors and one of Georgia’s largest industries. If signed into law, the bill would require the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to include pecans in its preliminary report, providing pecan processors with necessary figure estimates related to the overall size of the crop produced and cost of product.
MONTEZUMA, GA – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (GA-02), co-chair of the Congressional Working Forests Caucus, welcomed the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) recent action to expand use of forest products in their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building program by including recognition of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the American Tree Farm System (AFTS), effectively opening a pathway for more U.S. forest products to be used in the LEED rating system.
FORT VALLEY, GA— Today, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Vilsack announced $18 million in grants will be available to strengthen research and teaching at historically black land-grant universities. The grants are available through the 1890 Institution Research, Extension, and Teaching Capacity Building Grants program administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
WASHINGTON, D.C – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee of Agriculture, released the following statement regarding his disappointment on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack’s refusal to label cottonseed as “other oilseeds” within the Farm Bill, an action which may negatively affect the cotton industry:
CAMILLA, GA – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies issued the following statement regarding the resignation of U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden, a native of Camilla, Georgia:
LAKE SEMINOLE, GA – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (GA-02) welcomed the U.S. Army Corps’ South Atlantic Division (SAD) announcement of the suspension of the new policy change prohibiting minor water withdrawals from lakes across the division, including Lake Seminole and Walter F George Lake. Congressman Bishop inquired about the rule in response to shared concerns from his constituents in Southwest Georgia.
ALBANY, GA – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (GA-02), member of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies welcomed Vincent "Zippy" Duvall as the new president of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).