Southwest Montana News

Great Falls, MT – Congressman Matt Rosendale (MT-02) held a roundtable discussion in Great Falls to lay out his priorities for the upcoming Farm Bill and get input from the community.

“I’d like to thank everyone who joined me for today’s agriculture roundtable discussion and for sharing their needs for the Farm Bill,” said Rep. Rosendale. “Getting Montana’s priorities into this year’s legislation is crucial to maintaining our state’s economic health. I’ve been working hard to make sure our needs are addressed in this massive piece of legislation and appreciate the opportunity to hear more from stakeholders."

Congressman Rosendale’s Farm Bill priorities include:

• Secure a strong crop insurance program to give producers certainty while protecting taxpayers from crisis spending when natural disasters inevitably strike.
• Stop the Chinese Communist Party and other foreign entities from purchasing U.S. farmland.
• Fix labeling and exporting/importing of beef – such as country of origin labeling or his USA Beef Act.
• Include a Cottonwood fix under the forestry title, such as his legislation, the FIR Act.
• Create a separate regulatory framework for industrial hemp by including the Industrial Hemp Act.

Attendees included:

• Cyndi Johnson – President, Montana Farm Bureau
• Ed Bandel – Farmer, Choteau County
• Raylee Honeycutt – Executive Vice President, Montana Stockgrowers
• Jess Bandel – Farmer, Choteau County
• Alison Vergeront – Executive Vice President, Montana Grain Growers Association
• Rick Bodgen – Farmer/Rancher, Cascade County
• Andrew Gould – Rancher, Cascade County
• Brian Torgerson – Owner, Torgerson’s Implement Dealership
• Sen. Butch Gillespie – Montana State Senator
• Doreen Gillespie – Toole County
• Tracie Roeder – Rancher, Teton County
• Rep. Josh Kassmier – Montana State Representative

Original source can be found here.