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FEDERALhearing transcript

High Impact

Hearing on the State of the Rural Economy (2015)

Original title: HEARING TO REVIEW THE STATE OF THE RURAL ECONOMY

January 1, 2015

rural economy agriculture farm bill farm income commodity prices disaster relief

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The Frame

What this does

The hearing addresses the financial stability of U.S. agricultural producers, who have faced a 43 percent decline in net farm income over two years and are struggling to secure credit for operations.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Agricultural producers

They are experiencing significant declines in net income and facing challenges in securing credit for their operations.

U.S. Department of Agriculture

The agency is responsible for the ongoing implementation of the 2014 Farm Bill.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2015.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

The House Committee on Agriculture held a hearing on February 11, 2015, to discuss the economic challenges facing rural America. The committee and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack reviewed the impact of falling and natural disasters on farm income one year after the passage of the 2014 .

Key Facts

Net farm income has declined by an estimated 43 percent over the two-year period preceding February 2015.
Commodity prices have dropped by as much as 50 percent since the signing of the 2014 Farm Bill.
32 states received disaster declarations in 2014 due to drought and other natural disasters.
Many agricultural producers are currently unable to demonstrate sufficient cash flow to secure necessary credit for farming operations.
The hearing took place on February 11, 2015, in the Longworth House Office Building.
The committee is currently overseeing the implementation phase of the 2014 Farm Bill.

Why It Matters

The hearing addresses the financial stability of U.S. agricultural producers, who have faced a 43 percent decline in net farm income over two years and are struggling to secure credit for operations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are farmers struggling to get loans?

Many producers cannot show lenders that their operations will generate enough to cover costs, largely due to a 50 percent drop in and recent natural disasters.

What was the main purpose of this hearing?

To review the current state of the rural economy and discuss the implementation of the 2014 in light of declining farm incomes.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Impact of 2014 Farm Bill

The hearing highlights a rapid divergence between the intent of the 2014 Farm Bill and the economic reality of the agricultural sector one year later.

Agricultural Act of 2014 Tom Vilsack

Connected Entities

personDavid Sanchez“Vice President of the Northern New Mexico Stockman's Association”Map →

personTom Vilsack“Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture”Map →

personK. Michael Conaway“Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance80
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy20
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz10
Current news / social attention level

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