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Support our Farmers and 
Ranchers

The top two things we need to do to support

our farmers and ranchers in Montana is to pass

mandatory country of origin labelling, and the right to repair farm

equipment.

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Beyond that, I want to see us invest in agricultural infrastructure in Montana that will take the things are farmers and ranchers produce and turn them into products which people can consume.   WE SHOULD NOT BE BUILDING DATA CENTERS. WE SHOULD BE BUILDING THINGS THAT CREATE PROSPERITY FOR OUR ECONOMY.

 

There are a lot of opportunities here to pursue.  We could be building fertilizer plants, canola oil processing facilities, safflower oil processing facilities,canneries, meat processing facilities, rendering facilities, flower mills, and the like.  We need to make capital available for these types of projects, not data centers. 

 

The farm bill that is passing Congress has elements of these plans in them, but does not go far enough.  Here is a list of the kinds of things I would like to see done in this critical area:

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  • Expand the EQIP program beyond its cap of 27 million acres

  • Increase Farm Service Administration officers and programs

  • Restore funding to USAID

  • Restore the $ 285 billion that was cut from SNAP

  • Use the provisions in Title V of the Farm Bill (credit) to provide access to capital for farmers, ranchers, coops, and other organizations to build critical agricultural infrastructure in Montana. 

  • Pass and fully fund the "Expanding Childcare in Rural America Act of 2023" (HR 3922)

  • Increase funding for the Rural Business Development grants program beyond $ 65 million/year

  • Increase funding for the Intermediate relending program beyond $ $ 25 million/year

  • Increase funding for the Rural Microentrenepuer program beyond a mere $ 20 million per year, and increase the caps beyond $ 75,000.

  • Increase funding for the Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) Grant program (HR 291) beyond $ 10 million per year.

  • Increase the Expanded Meat Processing and Rendering grants program (H.R. 559 and HR 3076) beyond the $ 3 million per year.

  • Increase the Water, Waste Disposal, and Wastewater Facility Grants programs (H.R. 7476) beyond the $ 15 million per year in the farm bill.

  • Increase and fully fund the ReConnect Rural Broadband Program. 

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