SEATTLE, WA & AUSTIN, TX - Amazon Prime and Whole Foods have been rolling out Prime-exclusive discounts since May, enabling customers with Prime accounts to save money on certain items. The discount program, which has been available in certain states, is now slated to go nationwide.
"Customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive—in fact, Prime members have adopted this benefit at one of the fastest rates we've seen," Cem Sibay, Amazon Prime's Vice President, said in a company press release.
Prime members can get the discount by using the Whole Foods app at checkout or typing in their Amazon-linked mobile number.
“Since launching Prime savings at Whole Foods Market, we’ve seen excitement and momentum from both Prime members and our supplier partners,” said A.C. Gallo, President and COO at Whole Foods Market. “Our weekly Prime member deals are a hit and we’re excited that Prime members across the U.S. will now be able to take advantage of these savings in our stores.”
The deals change weekly. For instance, this week Prime members can buy organic red cherries for $3.99 per lb and organic yellow peaches at $1.99 per lb, as well as an additional 10% off hundreds of sale items.
According to a report by CNN Money, Amazon didn't specify how popular the new program is, but it said members have saved millions of dollars so far.
Will the nationwide discount program add to Amazon's increasing influence in the grocery market? AndNowUKnow will keep you updated with the latest.
JACKSONVILLE, FL - Restructured and now in a stronger financial position as it emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Southeastern Grocers is launching a plan to remodel 100 of its 575 supermarkets.
“We're now able to move with a much more powerful velocity,” CEO Anthony Hucker said last week in an interview, according to Jacksonville’s Daily Record. He added, in regard to its own restructuring, “The customer won’t see anything. This doesn’t reflect on anything we do on a day-to-day basis.”
Hucker said the company uses focus groups with customers to find out what they want in their local stores.
“I always believe the customer is the boss,” he told the news source, explaining that the coming upgrades attempt to address those needs. One suggestion the Daily Record noted inspired the creation of a “Dollar Shop” in the Brierwood neighborhood’s store, a section with hundreds of low-priced and convenient items.
As we previously reported, the retailer announced last month that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware confirmed its restructuring plan, which will allow the company to decrease its overall debt levels by approximately $600 million, nearly two months after declaring it would go through Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In the reorganization, Southeastern exchanged equity shares in the company for debt, emerging from Chapter 11 with no one owner and the mindset of sponsorship rather than ownership.
“There’s a slew of companies” which were issued stock, Hucker said. “It’s effectively an ad hoc consortium. We refer to them all as our sponsors.”
Southeastern Grocers operates about 575 supermarkets in seven states under the Winn-Dixie, Bi-Lo, Harveys, and Fresco y Mas banners.
BAKERSFIELD, CA - If I’m poolside, I need grapes—and lots of them! The summer is officially here, and that not only means I’m basically a fish, but a fish that survives primarily off of grapes. And, this summer, Mazzei-Franconi has a plethora of grape varieties for my fellow fish (or regular human grocery shoppers) to choose from—red, black, white, and more.
With the season kicking off just around the corner on June 28, I spoke with Tom Franconi to find out what we can expect from the upcoming grape season.
“The market has been very active this season, and we’re hoping that continues as we begin harvesting this week,” Tom tells me. “With quality looking good and growing conditions staying steady, we’re looking forward to another great season.”
Grape enthusiasts are in for a real treat this year, as Tom notes that volume has increased in size compared to last year. Combined with the mild weather California is known for, Mazzei-Franconi’s season is already off to a good start with growing conditions close to ideal and steady temperatures showing no signs of letting up in the forecast.
“Starting Thursday, we will harvest Flame Seedless, Sugarones, and Summer Royals, which are red, white, and black varieties. So far, we’re seeing very nice quality grapes: good sizing, nice colors, and we’re hoping for great sugar content as well,” Tom says. “This season, we’re also pushing new varieties, like Ivory, Magenta, Kryssy, Timco, and Allison, which we have introduced over the last few years in order to keep up with rising demand.”
With Flame Seedless, Sugarones, and Summer Royals opening the season on June 28 out of Arvin, California, Mazzei-Franconi’s season will continue throughout the summer with Ivory’s harvested around July 10, Kryssy’s July 20, Magenta’s August 10, and Timco’s and Allison’s closing the season out in the fall.
Look for Mazzei-Franconi’s grape varieties on shelves soon for a grape summer (pun attempted)! For more on what’s happening crop-side, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
SACRAMENTO, CA - Kroger is now asking its produce suppliers to waive their PACA rights and agree to 90-day payment terms. Under a PACA amendment established in 1984, produce suppliers were given a super priority to be paid first in an event of bankruptcy for the buyer, but only if those transactions had payment terms of 30 days from acceptance. A letter to suppliers signed by four Kroger executives shared the retailer’s intentions to “standardize its payment terms to Net 90 across all aspects of [its] business effective immediately,” which effectively could make any transaction with Kroger ineligible for PACA protection.
Why does this matter? I spoke with several members of the produce industry across professions to find out exactly why this is not only an alarming practice for the American farmer, but also for the consumer.
“Any other industry would die to have a safety net like PACA, and the PACA trust is the Holy Grail of our industry. No, we aren't worried about Kroger going bankrupt, but it's not about who is making the ask—it’s about if this is a best practice for our industry,” Matt McInerney, Sr. Executive Vice President of the Western Growers Association tells me, noting that he can’t remember an issue that has caused this much concern from the association’s members in the past several decades.
“The problem with Kroger’s letter is that it’s a one-size-fits-all request. Sure, supply for center store products may stick around for months, making cash flow unimportant—but this does not work in the perishable fresh produce industry,” Matt continues. “Congress has recognized the inherent risk that farmers make every time they put a seed into the ground and that the need for timely payment is imperative to the produce industry’s economic welfare. This is an issue of fairness and equality for farmers, and the Western Growers Association is looking to get Kroger’s policy re-examined.”
Joseph Sbrocchi, General Manager at the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG), also spoke to me on behalf of the organization’s grower members, explaining that Kroger’s policy creates an unfair disadvantage for farmers.
“It's gravely concerning,” Joseph said of Kroger’s demand. “When I was in retail, the tendency to request for things like this came from our finance department or other departments that didn't understand the urgency of the produce industry. This would just be another way of squeezing growers’ margins. The concern I have is, if one retailer does something like this, the rest will follow. It is very regrettable, and at the end of the day, it's going to add cost to the consumer. I deeply care for all the growers I represent, and this is not in the interest of their well-being.”
George Radanovich, President of the California Fresh Fruit Association, spoke on behalf of his group's members, as well.
“We’ve gotten a lot of calls—A LOT of calls—from our growers and rage would be a good descriptor of how they are feeling. We plan on conveying this to Kroger in a statement that we will release on Monday,” he tells me.
Tom Stenzel, President and CEO of the United Fresh Produce Association, says he’s spoken with the Kroger produce team, who indicated that the 90-day payment terms may not be as strict in the case of produce suppliers. However, Kroger has not publically made a statement regarding that flexibility.
“We understand verbally from Kroger’s produce team that there is flexibility for produce suppliers regarding the recent supplier letter announcing 90-day payment terms,” Tom shares. “They’ve encouraged produce suppliers to talk with their Kroger contacts about payment options, and offered to meet with suppliers at their business suite in the United Fresh show this week in Chicago. We appreciate that direct dialogue. There’s still significant concern in the industry to see a more formal clarification of payment policies for produce, and we encourage Kroger to consider that option.”
Veteran retailer and now-Consultant Dick Spezzano echoed many of the same sentiments as the association leaders I spoke with, expressing that he hopes Kroger rescinds the new supplier demand for the sake of America’s farmers, shippers, and vendors.
“I don't think that, currently, anyone is worried about Kroger going bankrupt. However, this could lead to a trend of some or even all of retail and foodservice to copy it, and if they don't, they will be financially disadvantaged. Most suppliers, at least at the beginning of their seasons, are waiting for their checks, as they have put out all of the investment in land, equipment, planting, inputs during the growing, picking, and packing, and now they have to wait an additional 60-80 days to get paid by Kroger,” Dick explains.
Many growers, shippers, and produce vendors are borrowing from banks to get to their current 10-30 payments, he says, and, now, they would have to borrow even more.
“The banks will not like this at all and would probably increase their interest rates in response,” Dick continues. “With Kroger’s current pay practices, it buys, receives, ships to its stores, and sells the produce 4-5 times before it pays for the first shipment. With this new pay practice that would probably extend out to 12-15 times before they pay for the first shipment.”
Given how major of a player Kroger is in the grocery landscape, many industry members I spoke to asked for their comments on the new policy to be made anonymous. Several had passionate responses that spoke to what they deem to be a lack of understanding of the produce industry by the Kroger executives who are pushing this.
“I think this a really good example of a big, greedy Wall Street organization who thinks it can squeeze one more drop of blood out of this turnip. Nobody is going to fall on their sword for this issue because Kroger is such a big powerful customer—this is what happens when a customer has become this big and powerful. That said, if they set a precedent here with bypassing PACA, it will be a whole different world for fresh produce suppliers in a few years,” a source shared with me. “Kroger is beholden to Wall Street; the produce industry needs to be beholden to the grower—the American farmer—who takes extraordinary risks for little and sometimes no margins.”
They continued by stressing the extreme importance for the produce industry and its associations to unite together to take a strong stance against Kroger’s policy.
“We need to hold steady arm in arm and say we won’t do business with Kroger because we aren’t going to break PACA," the source continued. "This is the associations' opportunity to step up to the plate and say we will fight this thing tooth and nail for our members and the American farmer. And we need to fight collectively so that no one company is at risk. American farmers, growers, and shippers, pay our dues for associations to protect us. Kroger has taken a stance against us and we have to say we are not going to play ball. The grower and consumer will be the ones who foot the bill for this.”
Kroger’s letter did say it would have a quickpay option available “at a very small discount.” The sample given in that letter was, if a $1 million invoice was paid on the 10th day, the discount would be less than 0.72 percent or $7,200. The early payment plan is reportedly being offered “to help our long-term business partners with the migration to our new standard payment terms, which are not considered optional to Kroger.”
With a topic as controversial as this one, the conversation is certainly not over. AndNowUKnow will continue to report on the situation as it develops.
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TX - Breaking weather updates have been tugging on media channels, drawing viewers into the mercurial conditions. Recently, after a storm hit Texas, the Lone Star State's Rio Grande Valley has flooded.
Speaking on the food’s reflection on our industry’s well-being is Dante Galeazzi, President and CEO of Texas International Produce Association, and Tommy Wilkins, Director of Sales and Business Development for Grow Farms Texas.
"I've been down here five years, and, before this, I swore it never rained. Now, we've seen 12-20 inches, depending on what part of the valley you're in," Tommy shares, describing cars with water up to the windshields and employees being disrupted by the floods. "We don't have the drainage to handle that much volume, so we have seen massive road closures all over town. Certain warehouses were closed, while we lost phone service for 72 hours and were having to do everything by cell."
While Tommy’s Grow Farms team dealt with the conditions on their end, the Valley saw a wide range of damage from the storm, and the impacts were seen on all fronts of the industry.
“The rainfall was anywhere between 4 inches to 14 inches, depending on the location over the course of the two days. Many of the surface and frontage streets in South Texas were impacted, and, unfortunately, several cities like Weslaco suffered flooding that entered major residential areas,” Dante tells AndNowUKnow, expanding that the damage reached all over the valley and what the storm means for the produce industry. “Although most of the watermelons had been harvested in South Texas already, the impact to the fresh produce industry was felt by workers being unable to access the facilities due to road closures and unsafe conditions. Trucks were stranded on the freeways or at gas stations in Edinburg because they couldn’t exit off the freeway due to flooded roads. There were a lot of roads reported with standing water and thus inaccessible, including in Pharr near the international bridge.”
Tommy adds that, while the troubles connected with the storm are being fixed, companies and trucks have had trouble communicating. Luckily, Pharr Bridge never felt the onslaught, he clarifies, nor the areas growing fresh produce.
"From a production standpoint, it's a blessing to corn, sugarcane, and cotton—not much was hurt. And the water didn't come down on where they are loading cantaloupe like it did here,” Tommy explains, adding the sentiment that everything is bigger in Texas. "We've had a major drought down here. They say we ask for some heat we get 110 degrees; we ask for cold we get snow, and when we ask for rain we get the Gulf."
As the whole state pushes forward after the storms, the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, issued a declaration of emergency for the event, according to a press release, and he encouraged the use of available resources from the state government, as well as political subdivisions, that would aid response efforts.
"As severe weather and flooding continue to impact parts of Texas, our first priority is to ensure the safety of our fellow Texans in harm’s way,” Governor Abbott said. “The State of Texas has activated all necessary resources to help respond to the ongoing severe weather, and we will continue to provide any assistance to local communities. I thank our first responders who are working to keep Texans safe, and I encourage all those in the affected regions to continue to heed all warnings from local officials.”
Mother Nature always has a few tricks up her sleeve, however, and is now providing the region with some more pleasant weather that will help to dry the Valley. The outlooks are also brightening alongside the coming sunshine.
“Thankfully, much of the water had receded by 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 21st in many parts of the valley. The weather was clear and warm on Friday, which helps further dry standing water and bring a small sense of normalcy to business operations in the Rio Grande Valley,” Dante explains. “Many communities will still be dealing with the challenges of standing water though through the valley, and local emergency services will likely remain busy for the foreseeable future, cleaning up and assisting families in need.”
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Rio Grande Valley’s communities at this time as they recover from these recent storms.
For more news on how the weather is shaping our industry and more, stick with us at AndNowUKnow for updates.
SANTA ROSA, CA - What does “Fresh” mean? According to industry consultant Mark Cassius and Alan Shulman, Founder of phototech company AppliColor Inc., the answers are subjective and varied.
“People have their own opinions of what ‘looks fresh,’” Alan explains. “We’ve developed a way to identify the freshness and quality of produce with digital images and measurements using an app and a smartphone. The mobile-phone app is called ‘Poma Fresh.’ We use spectral analytic science, which has been affirmed by hundreds of USDA studies, but up to this time required a spectrometer to take measurements. A spectrometer makes a single-point determination on a very small area of produce.”
Poma Fresh, he tells me, can easily take tens of thousands of pixel test points on a single vegetable to present a more accurate assessment.
This can take a picture and, in something that looks like an x-ray scan, immediately provide an objective laboratory-quality assessment of freshness. Mark has many years of experience bringing fresh produce to the table, and shares he believes Poma Fresh offers an avenue for more transparency among shippers, retailers, and consumers, plus a new standard for fresh product that is accessible by anyone with a smartphone.
“There are several applications: there’s one for shippers, who can use this to verify and differentiate their level of freshness from the competition, one potentially for retailers to control their inbound quality and monitor the display in-store, and the consumer aspect of not knowing what to buy,” Mark says. “It’s crazy to think you can take a picture of something and see how fresh it is.”
Produce, the two emphasize, is not uniform and a single vegetable or piece of fruit may manifest a range of qualities—one part of a broccoli head can have a different exposure to sunlight and temperature than another.
What can Poma Fresh help? A few examples Alan shares include:
- Growers could make better harvest and cultivation decisions
- Distributors could ensure quality consistency, eliminating substandard products while featuring premium products
- Retail distribution centers could document quality control and shipment acceptance. Distribution transportation decisions can be based on qualified freshness rather than FIFO procedures
- Retail stores could monitor on-shelf display rotations and replenishment schedules to reduce shrink
- Home delivery services could validate produce freshness
- Consumers could make better purchasing decisions and improve utilization practices
So how does Poma Fresh work?
Alan explains that chloroplasts absorb light and send out energy, a process that fades as freshness is diminished.
“Photosynthesis is an electrochemical process that directly relates to freshness. The way things absorb light is key to measuring freshness. We’re using color to predict quality, taste, and remaining shelf-life,” he says.
An additional benefit of Poma Fresh is that it could compile a database identifying seasonal trends that may assist corporate buying decisions, predict influences of weather on quality and yields and provide an objective measurable standard for quality by region, grower, and season.
“With that information, we might be able to help retailers increase their sales and productivity and add to the bottom line. By ensuring that everything is as fresh as possible, retailers will be able to optimize sales, get repeat sales and be recognized for having the best product available,” Mark tells me.
Alan shows me photos displaying fresh levels for broccoli, pineapples, avocados, mangos, potatoes, and other produce—most of which can be imaged and measured.
He speculates that the industry will creatively utilize Poma Fresh in ways yet to be discovered. “There are going to be many more applications for this tool. The key to its success is going to be its accessibility—a mobile app that consumers can download from the internet and a smartphone camera—owned by more than two billion users worldwide.”
With horizons yet to be explored, it will be interesting to see what doors this new technology might open for the fresh produce industry. Poma Fresh hopes to establish individual digital standards for all agricultural products. To witness this application for yourself, swing by booth #1940 while visiting United Fresh, June 25-27.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - The next wave of robots could be coming to a grocery store near you. Fortunately, these little guys will be facilitating—not terminating—in the produce aisle and throughout the store. Bossa Nova Robotics, provider of in-store stocking robots already roaming 50 Walmart stores throughout the continental United States, recently completed a $29 million round of fundraising.
A VentureBeat report notes that the company will use this round of funds to accelerate robot production alongside its manufacturing partner Flex. And Bossa Nova’s Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer Martin Hitch told both VentureBeat and CNBC, this week, that the company plans to invest its recently raised $29 million into software research and development, hiring, and plans for international expansion, as well.
“The hires that we’ll make as a result of this funding are all software hires, and that’s really to focus on the data,” said Hitch. “So we certainly see our business model as ‘How do we extract more value from rich data?’ rather than ‘How do we build different robots to accomplish different tasks?’”
Bossa Nova’s robots use basic color photos and point-cloud images to understand depth, provide stores with inventory updates, and be aware, so to speak, of when items need to be restocked. Though the robots generally operate during times of day when fewer shoppers are present, they also use lidar and various sensors to negotiate people and obstacles as they roam aisles.
According to CNBC, Bossa Nova’s robots can work up to three times faster than human employees—with two-times greater accuracy. Stocking robots can also free up employees to help customers, assess the freshness of inventory, and take care of other key customer service and decision-making tasks.
Could grocery robots like Bossa Nova’s be a key factor in retailers’ success as they vie for market share in a changing industry? AndNowUKnow will continue to report on innovations in our industry.
MONTEREY, CA - PRO*ACT is helping those across our industry bring produce to the center of the plate with its new website, Colorful Plates. In collaboration with suppliers and chefs, Colorful Plates was created with the busy foodservice operator in mind and features resources on everything fresh produce, like regional availability, peak freshness, flavor profiles, and more.
“Culinary expertise in fresh produce has been historically underrepresented, so we hope this kind of resource is meeting a need during a time that people are looking for more plant-forward menu choices,” said Mackenzie Lovelace, Marketing Manager. “The goal has always been to develop simple bites of information, alongside produce inspiration—so partnering with our supplier community, and award-winning chefs was vital.”
For the past fourteen months, Lovelace has been managing a team of contributors and designers to develop the site and pick the minds of a community of chefs from PRO*ACT’s customers, suppliers, and culinary professionals working in its distribution centers. Colorful Plates will feature articles, tips and tricks, recipe ideas, chef profiles, video clips, a podcast of interviews with celebrity chefs, and inspiration “for chefs, by chefs,” according to a press release.
“The assistance that we have received from top-tier growers has been amazing—their willingness to share their resources, expertise, and advice really made this possible. Our network serves foodservice operators from family to fine dining, from healthcare to hospitality, and from K-12 to colleges—Colorful Plates has resources geared towards chefs in each of those sectors,” continued Lovelace.
For more produce-centric innovations, technologies, and resources launching across our industry, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
MCALLEN, TX - Off of the four year anniversary of the launch of its patented Stand-Up Combo® bag, Fox Packaging™ announced a film upgrade that will improve the stand up pouch bag’s performance and visual appeal. Bolstering its efforts to give customers sustainable options, Fox Packaging™ announced that it has improved the bag's bio-degradeability.
Previously, the bag was made from a proprietary polyethylene blend. Fox worked with a film partner to develop a recyclable alternative that is compatible with existing polyethylene recycle streams without diminished clarity, physical properties, or the waste that laminated or non-recyclable materials create. This film upgrade, the company noted, improves both the stand-up pouch bag’s performance and visual appeal.
“Fox Packaging is committed to a variety of sustainability initiatives both in our manufacturing processes and in the packaging solutions we offer,” said Aaron Fox, Executive Vice President, in a press release. “We understand our responsibility to help our customers provide sustainable solutions to shoppers and are always investing in those efforts. This new and improved pouch bag film has been a top priority for us and we are pleased to finally unveil it at the United Fresh Show this month.”
The patented Fox Stand-up Combo® bag is constructed from a combination of poly and mesh for optimal breathability and ample printing space. It also features a functional, flat bottom for upright display. Ranging in size from 1–5 lbs, the patented Stand-up Combo bag is available in 12 colors of non-abrasive mesh and a convenient zip closure. Fox’s state-of-the-art surface flexo printing process produces a high dynamic range of colors to help customers’ branding stand out on the store shelf.
For the latest in the produce industry, stick with us at AndNowUKnow.
WASHINGTON, DC - Passing through by the skin of its teeth, with a 213 majority to 211, the House of Representatives voted its $867 billion farm bill through on Thursday.
"Farm Bill just passed in the House. So happy to see work requirements included. Big win for the farmers!" Trump communicated via Twitter.
The bill includes requiring those receiving Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP), which was formerly known as food stamps, to work 20 hours per week and be enrolled in job training programs or be cut off from benefiting from the program all together. This requirement differs from the farm bill that is currently followed in that the work load is more demanding—the current bill requires those receiving SNAP, about 42 million people last year, work if they are between the ages of 18 and 49 and are without a disability, NPR reports. Additionally, the news source points out that the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that over one million low-income houses will feel the results of this bill, if passed completely.
Because of disagreements on the work requirements for those receiving SNAP, spending, and immigration, 30 House Republicans sided with Democrats in voting it down a month ago. Now, the House is singing a different tune as this latest bill makes it through, barely but successfully. The unity may be, in part, due to wide-spread beliefs that the program has grown too large and that the push to promote self-sufficiency will lower the number of people relying on government funding.
"This bill includes critical reforms to nutrition benefits that close the skills gap, better equip our workforce, and encourage people to move from welfare to work, so more Americans have the opportunity to tap into the economic prosperity we're seeing right now,” Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, voiced in a recent statement, according to NPR.
While Ryan praised the bill’s “critical reforms,” other members sitting in the House are finding themselves between a rock and a hard place when comparing the recently passed House bill and that of the Senate, which votes on its version of a farm bill soon. The Senate’s version does not include changes in SNAP.
"The Senate's version isn't perfect, but it avoids the hardline partisan approach that House Republicans have taken here today, and if it passes, I look forward to working with conferees to produce a conference report both parties can support, which is the only way to get a farm bill enacted into law,” Representative Collin Peterson of Minnesota, who is the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said in NPR’s coverage.
Further, there are those who are acutely aware of the bill’s impact on agriculture—or those who vehemently state that it doesn’t strengthen agriculture at all.
“This bill does nothing to actually strengthen agriculture programs or help farmers caught in the president’s trade war,” Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said, according to CNBC. “I hope the bipartisan process in the Senate leads to a better bill that strengthens our farm safety net and anti-hunger programs so this attack on our most vulnerable never reaches the president’s desk.”
On the other hand, Representative Mike Conaway of Texas attests to the benefits that this bill would offer the industry and those receiving assistance from the programs.
“Today’s vote was about keeping faith with the men and women of rural America and about the enduring promise of the dignity of a day’s work,” Conaway expressed in CNBC’s coverage. “It was about providing certainty to farmers and ranchers who have been struggling under the weight of a five-year recession and about providing our neighbors in need with more than just a handout, but a hand up.”
As parties duke it out on Capitol Hill, industry members are feeling the heat as the impending farm bills edge closer to September 30th, when the current farm bill is set to expire after its five year run.
There are many different sides to this coin, as we are seeing from all corners of the industry and well beyond. Center for Food Safety sent out a press release calling the passing a nightmare.
"This Farm Bill is an enormous wish-list for pesticide companies," Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of Center for Food Safety shared. "By allowing it to pass, Congress is creating ever greater food insecurity among the nation's most vulnerable populations and jeopardizing the health of our children, our communities, and our environment.”
Promoting the bill's progress is the American Farm Bureau Federation, which, according to CNBC, voices its support.
"Passage of the House farm bill today is a big win for America's farmers and ranchers," said the Bureau's President, Zippy Duvall. "Our grassroots Farm Bureau members clearly made their voices heard. By approving the 2018 Farm Bill today, members of the House recognized the serious economic challenges facing farmers and ranchers across the country."
In addition to the the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents, or PIA, is praising the bills progression through the ranks in its recent press release.
"PIA applauds House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway (R-Texas) for championing the bill which recognizes the importance of a strong safety net through crop insurance, and respects the vital role played by independent insurance agents in the delivery of the federal crop insurance program," PIA’s National Vice President of Government Relations Jon Gentile said. "When America's farmers need crop insurance, they turn to their PIA agents."
How will the bill impact the agricultural community, and, if the bill makes its way through completely, what will that look like over the next five years? AndNowUKnow will keep you in the loop as the farm bill nears its September turnover.