Jeff Denham: “I stand before you today as a Central Valley farmer, a friend of farmers, an agricultural employer and an agricultural…”

“I stand before you today as a Central Valley farmer, a friend of farmers, an agricultural employer and an agricultural worker, and the Representative of a community that is dependent upon agriculture for its livelihood. As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, I understand the specialized needs of various sectors of our ag economy across the country. My priorities for this farm bill are: First and foremost, providing a 5-year certainty for farmers while saving taxpayers dollars by eliminating direct payments and reforming nutrition programs for the first time since 1996. Second, we need to support innovative research and development on specialty crops, a major export for our region and our country as a whole. Third, we must support programs and increase exports and take advantage of all of the new trade agreements we have strengthened and established in the past years and prepare for those markets which are beginning to open to our ag products. Fourth, we must also protect domestic produce and farms from pests and diseases that primarily come from other countries. And fifth and finally, it is imperative that we uphold a State's right to protect its own agriculture industry by passing laws related to safety and agricultural production.…”