04.16.21

Hoeven Urges Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Nominee to Support North Dakota's Producers

Senator Stresses Importance of Timely QLA & WHIP+ Payments, Crop Insurance, RISE Program & Farmer-Friendly Carbon Policies

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, this week spoke with Dr. Jewel Bronaugh, nominee to be Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he outlined key priorities for North Dakota producers, including:

  • Distributing assistance from the Quality Loss Adjustment (QLA) Program and the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+) as soon as possible.
  • Hoeven is also pressing the administration, including Agriculture Secretary Vilsack, to ensure USDA fully funds QLA. The senator previously secured an additional $1.5 billion for WHIP+ and QLA in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Ag Appropriations to meet producer demand for the programs.
  • Maintaining support for crop insurance, the primary risk management tool for many producers.
  • Implementing the Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) Program, which supports innovation clusters in rural regions.
    • Hoeven secured $5 million for RISE in both FY20 and FY21 Agriculture Appropriations, as well as language to prioritize projects like Grand Farm.
    • This comes as part of Hoeven’s long-term efforts to support the implementation of precision agriculture technologies.
  • Ensuring that any new carbon reduction programs are farmer-friendly and benefit producers directly. 

“If confirmed as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. Bronaugh would play a critical role in delivering the programs that help our nation’s farmers and ranchers to maintain their operations and deliver the food, fuel and fiber that we need,” said Hoeven. “Our conversation was an opportunity to secure her support in addressing the needs of North Dakota’s producers. This is especially important as our producers recover from the range of challenges they’ve faced in recent years and get back to selling their products at market prices. I look forward to discussing these matters with her more as she moves through the confirmation process.”

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