WASHINGTON, D.C. – Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry, and Natural Resources, today applauded Senate passage of the 2018 Farm Bill conference report. More than 25 Bennet-led priorities were included in the final Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.

“The farmers and ranchers of Colorado wrote enormous parts of this legislation, and what passed today is a reflection of their priorities.

“Over the course of two dozen listening sessions, their recommendations have improved how we manage our forests, have strengthened our farm safety net, and will help us address climate change.

“In the Senate Agriculture Committee, we don’t have partisan differences—we have regional differences that we resolve. That’s because farmers and ranchers don’t have the luxury of pretending politics is the only thing that matters. They’re focused on handing the next generation more opportunity. That’s what this bill does.

“It has been gratifying to work with other members of the Agriculture Committee. After two years of negotiation and hard-fought compromise, we are steps away from having this critical bill become law.”

The following highlights in the Farm Bill are significant for Colorado. The bill:

·    Expands economic opportunity, especially in rural communities, by legalizing hemp and increasing access to broadband.

·    Strengthens risk management, maintains crop insurance, contains innovative forest health tools, and fully funds conservation programs.

·    Protects the integrity of SNAP and expands access to healthy foods.

·     Provides tools to farmers and ranchers to adapt to climate change and reduce carbon pollution.

Gardner comments on Farm Bill

Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) on Tuesday voted in favor of the bipartisan Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Farm Bill). This legislation renews the federal government’s agricultural programs, including crop insurance, farm credit, and conservation policies. The legislation also expands trade assistance and promotion efforts, provides assistance to rural communities to expand rural broadband and addiction treatment for opioids, and renews the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

“As a fifth generation Coloradan from a small town on the Eastern Plains where agriculture is a way of life, I know how important it is that Congress has reached a bipartisan agreement on the Farm Bill,” said Gardner. “As a result of low commodity prices, our agriculture community has been struggling for the past few years and this has had a profound impact on my own community and rural communities across the state and country. The Farm Bill provides long-term certainty to farmers and ranchers throughout Colorado and even includes provisions that will specifically help Colorado farmers and ranchers.

“Several provisions I worked on include providing farmers and ranchers relief from drought, using technology to better implement dryland farming practices, providing resources to combat deadly diseases that wipe out hop fields, and making industrial hemp legal to make sure Colorado farmers are free to use their land how they see fit. All of these initiatives will help Colorado’s agriculture community and this is another example of how Congress can work together in a bipartisan manner to help the American people.”

Gardner was able to secure several important provisions in the Farm Bill that will help Colorado’s agriculture community:

Gardner-Bennet Amendment to strengthen drought and water conservation policy that will provide additional resources for Colorado producers having to deal with drought.

Gardner amendment that authorizes research and extension grants in order to utilize data and technology for more precise management of dryland farming agriculture systems.

Gardner-Bennet Amendment that combats diseases harming hop plants.

HEMP Farming provision removes industrial hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, which will create jobs and get the government out of the way for Colorado’s farmers.