2023 is a big year for farmers, it’s when farmers are expecting to see the next Farm Bill.

When speaking to the House Agriculture Committee last week, US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack started talking about the next Farm Bill, saying he wants the committee to use the bill to move rural America from an “extractive economy” to a “circular economy”.

According to Vilsack, a circular economy would mean the wealth stays as opportunities and jobs are created.

Vilsack isn’t the only one looking to the future at the next farm bill. Chase Adams of the American Sheep Association says this next year, they are going to be looking a lot at the 2023 Farm Bill.

We are looking for environmental programs. We're going to be grazing and prescriptive grazing- where we can take sheep in and reduce wildfire fuel loads, where we can reduce noxious and invasive species and we can enhance habitat. That is a huge win for the sheep industry. There's a niche that only sheep and maybe goat producers and cattle producers, really sheep have a leg up in this part of the grazing conversation.

Adams says they expect grazing to be part of the conversation for a long time.

Big pig in the farm - Look like lonely
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Discussion Coming Up In Pork

Voting delegates representing all of Iowa’s 99 county pork organizations are meeting Tuesday in Des Moines to discuss and vote on policies affecting the industry. Dal Grooms with the Iowa Pork Producers told Radio Iowa what they plan to discuss.

There's been a Visioning Task Force that's been going on between the National Pork Producers Council and the National Pork Board. They are ready to give a report. They're going to be sharing that with the delegates and having delegates respond to that and then talk about accountability, as to who should manage which portion.

Producers are currently paying 45-cents per $100 of pork value under the pork check-off program. Member dues are used for lobbying-- check-off funds are only used for promotion, education, research, exports, and market development.

They're also going to be talking about rates for both the checkoff and then also for the rate that we have for special interest programs. People have been kicking that around for a year or two as well.

The Iowa Pork Congress will also have industry shows and seminars on Wednesday and Thursday in Des Moines.

Be sure to tune into the 8 o’clock hour on Thursday and Friday when I share my coverage of the event.

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