Mike Conaway

I want to really stress the importance of crop insurance, which others have. We need to make it more inclusive and not exclude people.

The current formula is failing because of changes that were made during the deliberations in the 2014 Farm Bill.

I feel very strongly we must not, not retreat from international trade agreements.

Thank you, Lord, for the privilege of living in this country, and all the blessings that that bestows upon us.

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

I believe this is a needed step in ensuring that organic practices have the widespread impact on American agriculture they deserve, while meeting ever-growing consumer demand.

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.

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

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

That trout stream now generates over $4 million in income to that local community from that investment.

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

The family I am going to have in the front of my mind is a single mom struggling to make ends meet.

What we desperately need are programs that mitigate risk for entrepreneurial activities that allow farmers to tap into new markets and generate more profit.

While this Committee cannot control the weather, we can provide our farmers and ranchers the tools necessary to protect and conserve not only the land, but also their way of life.

It's important that we keep these programs funded to safeguard their continued success, and above all else--these programs must stay voluntary.

The dairy industry needs better mechanisms for risk management--and that's on both the farmer and processor side.

Food aid is one of the things I would cut.

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.

Ag is the number one industry in the State of Illinois. It's not up in Chicago, it's agriculture, and we need to remind folks of that.

We need enforcement. We need the U.S. to raise concerns with Canada with respect to dairy.

We need to think about the nutritional value of milk, and endeavoring to make sure that we move that number from only one out of ten Americans consuming the recommended three servings a day.

The United States must lead, not be led.

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.

At the end of each one of these policies are people that are responsible for providing the safest, most abundant, most affordable food supply in the world.

I believe in crop insurance. It is a critical program for our country.