Mike Conaway

Specialty crops play an important role in the success of U.S. agriculture and are an essential component of our national food policy--the farm bill.

The current Federal Guest Worker Program, H-2A, has serious problems. The program is in need of a major overhaul.

I believe an impending crisis is at hand. Innovation can play a key role in solving this.

Ag is less than two percent of the GDP of California, why should we even care about it?

Every $1 of Federal expenditure has a payback of about $20 to the American public.

If the U.S. is going to remain competitive, going forward, we cannot afford to rest on the success of our past and take a back seat to the rest of the world.

While I recognize that our budget problems cannot be ignored, it is important to note that the agriculture community has repeatedly answered the call for reform and has done more than its fair share to generate savings.

As we continue working to craft the next farm bill, we turn our attention to one of the primary drivers of innovation and productivity in our 21st century agricultural economy, and that is university research.

Hunger is not acceptable, the nutrition title is a very important part of the farm bill.

I personally believe that the values where food is largely grown and produced in rural America includes taking care of neighbors in need.

Cutting funding to the Food for Peace Title II program would leave over 41 million people without assistance.

Cutting lifesaving programs does not improve upon assistance or stretch dollars to reach more people.

I want to get nutrition to people who need it, but I don't want to put cash in the hands of people who might use that against the folks that need our assistance.

America remains the single largest donor of international food assistance, giving over $2.5 billion in aid annually.

We urge the House Agriculture Committee to ignore the siren calls for "greater flexibility" from the so-called "food aid reform advocates"

The United States continues to be the world leader of in-kind food aid donations and total development assistance.

It is vital that the U.S. continue to fund food aid programs overseas.

If we are going to be spending money on these programs, we have to be spending it in the best way possible in a way that helps to provide an economic and a political benefit at home not just overseas.

By helping encourage agricultural development in Tanzania, we are spurring economic growth.

Food aid continues to matter. In the long-term, it helps generate good will in other countries.

NRECA supports this request not only because it is a reasonable adjustment for today's farming economics.

The only way that we as a nation are going to move the needle on beginning farmers, land transition, and farm viability is to find a way to add more value to the farm.

Bringing more of the food dollar back to the farm means connecting to new markets with new products in new ways.

Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.

Credit programs are inextricably linked to bringing the next generation back to the land, farmland preservation, conservation, and national security.