Key farm-state lawmaker says concessions should make climate bill acceptable to farmers

October 15th, 2009 NEW YORK - The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced a $9.7 million grant for poor farmers in India as part of a $120 million programme for the uplift of agriculture in endemically poor regions of the world. "Melinda and I believe that helping the poorest small-holder farmers grow more crops and get them to market is the world's single most powerful lever for reducing hunger and poverty," Gates said in Des Moines, Iowa, announcing the new programme.

October 5th, 2009 Farmers create chaos with spilled milk in BrusselsBRUSSELS — Farmers drove hundreds of tractors and a lone cow to the heart of the European Union bureaucracy on Monday, pelting police with bottles and chickens and dumping milk and manure onto the streets of Brussels in a protest against collapsing milk prices. Over 2,500 farmers from across the EU burned tires and hay outside an emergency meeting of farm ministers.

October 5th, 2009 Farm protests over milk prices yields no resultBRUSSELS — Hundreds of dairy farmers drove their tractors into Belgium's capital, pelted police and snarled traffic Monday but left without any new short-term commitment from EU farm ministers to ease the financial pressure caused by plummeting milk prices. Twenty of 27 member nations demanded more protection from the volatile world market, and Germany led the call for more money.

September 3rd, 2009 Labor Department proposes new rule on farm workersWASHINGTON — The Labor Department is taking another crack at rolling back a Bush administration regulation that made it easier for farmers to hire temporary foreign farm workers. The agency is proposing a new rule that would boost wages and increase safeguards for thousands of seasonal workers brought in each year to help farmers pick their crops.

September 1st, 2009 US agriculture interests split over energy billOMAHA, Neb. — Legislation to confront climate change could be an economic godsend to farmers and ranchers.

September 1st, 2009 US agriculture interests split over climate billOMAHA, Neb. — Climate change legislation before Congress could be an economic godsend to farmers and ranchers.

July 22nd, 2009 USDA: Farmers to profit from climate billWASHINGTON — Farmers stand to make more money than they will lose if Congress enacts legislation to limit the gases blamed for global warming, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the Agriculture Department. The study, the first to look specifically at the bill's toll on the agricultural sector, shows that higher energy prices will cut into farmers' bottom lines in both the short and long term.

July 16th, 2009 Senator holds up EPA nominee over climate studyWASHINGTON — A Republican senator is blocking the nomination of a top Environmental Protection Agency official over what he calls a flawed study of the climate bill recently passed in the House. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said the hold is unrelated to the qualifications of Robert Perciasepe, nominated to become the EPA's deputy administrator.

June 30th, 2009 HYDERABAD - Reforms, not concessions, hold the key to agricultural growth in India, farmers' representatives told the finance ministry in the run up to the budget 2009-10. Farmers want financial reforms to ensure credit flow, a good risk mitigation system, an efficient extension services mechanism and fair prices, the Consortium of Indian Farmers Associations (CIFA), an apex body of various farmers' groups, told Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in pre-budget discussions recently.

June 25th, 2009 Democrats push for votes on climate bill.WASHINGTON — Democrats scrambled for votes Thursday on a climate bill that would for the first time limit the pollution blamed for global warming as the White House stepped up pressure on reluctant lawmakers and former Vice President Al Gore tried to stave off any defections. President Barack Obama, in a planned White House Rose Garden appearance, was expected to argue that the legislation will create new "green" energy jobs and help wean the nation away from foreign oil.

June 24th, 2009 Climate bill proponents agree to concessionsWASHINGTON — An agreement on a string of demands sought by farmers and lawmakers from rural areas erased a major obstacle facing a massive climate bill that for the first time would limit the pollution linked to global warming and redirect the nation toward greater use of clean energy. With some Democrats still worried about the bill's impact on energy costs, especially in regions that rely heavily on coal for power, Democratic leaders on Wednesday were looking for broader support for the bill ahead of a vote scheduled for Friday.

June 20th, 2009 THE INFLUENCE GAME: Excuse me! Lobby wins on burpsWASHINGTON — One contributor to global warming — bigger than coal mines, landfills and sewage treatment plants — is being left out of efforts by the Obama administration and House Democrats to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Cow burps. Belching from the nation's 170 million cattle, sheep and pigs produces about one-quarter of the methane released in the U.S.

June 19th, 2009 Denver airport reaped federal farm subsidiesDENVER — Denver International Airport reaped about $400,000 in federal agricultural subsidies between 1995 and 2003 by leasing up to 18,000 acres of its land to farmers. About two-thirds of the money went to the farmers.

February 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - With food security remaining a prime concern, the government Friday said it was looking at more cooperation and involvement of the corporate sector and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to take technology to farmers. 'We are looking at networking with private organisations and NGOs who can help take innovative technologies concerning agriculture to farmers and ensure there is maximum yield from the resources available to us,' T.

December 29th, 2008 NAGPUR - The Maharashtra government Tuesday announced a relief package worth Rs.6.2 billion (Rs.620 crore) to the crisis-ridden farmers in the state. Nearly four million farmers, who were left out by the central government's Rs.71-billion loan waiver package, are expected to benefit from this initiative.