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Trade and retaining America’s market share for agricultural exports was a dominant theme Thursday at a Montana agriculture summit organized by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. that featured newly installed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue as a keynote speaker and Chairman of the Agriculture Committee Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., as well as a wide variety of other voices in the industry. “When we talk about changing a trade agreement, it does two things,” said Matt Gibson, vice president and general manager of Bunge. “It forces Mexico to look for a backup plan, because they are not going to sit still and wait

“I know we already have large numbers [of contract workers] that come in and have been coming in over the years, but … in the current administration, this is all about American jobs versus people that come in and do the work,” Kelly told Sen. Heidi Heitkamp from Dakota.  Heitkamp had asked Kelly to accelerate the approval of H-2B contact-workers sought by employers in North Dakota, even though millions of Americans are either unemployed or have fallen out of the low-wage workforce.  Each year, the government allows companies to import roughly 100,000 H-2B workers for blue-collar jobs, such as landscaping

Fresh on the heels of a legislative victory in Minnesota, where passage of a tax credit bill gives young farmers better access to land, the National Young Farmers Coalition converges in Washington, D.C., today to advocate for a 2018 farm bill that renews rural economies and enables a new generation of farmers to grow the nation’s food supply.  “These young farmers have come to Washington, D.C., to fight for their livelihoods, and for the future of American agriculture,” said Andrew Bahrenburg, national policy director of NYFC. “As any farmer will tell you, June is a very difficult time to leave

Helena Regional Airport is among 20 Montana airports sharing in nearly $10 million in federal funding for improvements and maintenance. The funding was secured through provisions in the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization, according to an announcement by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. Helena’s airport will receive $705,306 to fund the design of the terminal building’s expansion, the news release stated. “The Helena airport plays a critical role in connecting our state. These needed infrastructure dollars will make a difference for passengers traveling through the Helena airport to meet Helena’s future needs,” Daines said in a statement. The federal funding also includes

Scammers are constantly figuring out new ways to take your money. It’s a problem the Montana Attorney General’s Office and AARP are trying to get ahead of. In a statewide teleconference Monday, state officials including Attorney General Tim Fox and Senator Steve Daines took questions from callers about scammers. Fox said the number of scams being reported is going up. The scams are getting more convincing as criminals use stolen information from corporate data breaches to appear more credible. Among the biggest scams are telephone scams where con artists call and say you won money or your computer has a

Montana’s junior senator vowed to reform laws governing environmental litigation that he blames for Montana’s flagging timber industry, speaking during a roundtable discussion with timber industry representatives and local government officials in Columbia Falls Friday morning. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., was joined by Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry — a panel on which Daines also serves. The two senators led the hour-long discussion a day after joining the new Agriculture Department secretary, Sonny Perdue, at the Montana Ag Summit in Great Falls. While he said a comprehensive solution to the struggles

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., has announced that 20 Montana airports have received $8.9 million in funding for critical upgrades and maintenance.  “Montana’s community airport play a critical role in connecting our state,” Daines said. “Every single dollar make a huge difference to keeping our rural airports reliable and ready to use.” The funding included $504,000 for the Sidney-Richland Airport Authority. This project will fund the acquisition of new snow removal power broom with air blower equipment to keep the airport serviceable during snow periods and aid in the efficiency and safety of operations.   Daines secured the following provisions in

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, who runs the federal farm subsidy and public nutrition programs, told a Montana audience that “my goal is to have a safety net for all American citizens, producers, but also those who cannot afford (food) … It is not in the heart of America to want to see anyone go hungry.” Speaking at the Montana Ag Summit in Great Falls, Perdue said spending cuts are necessary to get the federal debt under control. For the coming fiscal year, President Trump has proposed a $193 billion cut – 25% – in food stamp spending over 10 years,