{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.welch.senate.gov/welch-discusses-farm-bill-with-organic-dairy-farmers-dairy-industry-leaders-in-addison/", "Welch\u00a0Discusses Farm Bill\u00a0with Organic Dairy Farmers, Dairy Industry Leaders in Addison", "2026-08-12", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "www.welch.senate.gov", "welch", "https://www.welch.senate.gov/category/press-release/page/", "scraper", "ADDISON, VT \u2014 U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today joined Organic Valley, dairy industry leaders, and organic dairy farmers for a roundtable discussion at Harrison\u2019s Homegrown Organic Dairy Farm in Addison. At the event, Senator Welch discussed the Farm Bill and highlighted his bipartisan efforts to support Vermont\u2019s dairy farmers and strengthen the state\u2019s organic industry.\n\n\u201cVermont\u2019s organic dairy industry is the best of the best\u2014this is a proud Vermont tradition and an important part of our communities. It was a real joy to spend the afternoon at Harrison\u2019s Homegrown with Melanie, Patrick, Organic Valley, and organic dairy farmers in Addison County. I\u2019m fighting on the Agriculture Committee to provide more support for the Harrisons and farmers across our state, so they can keep farming for generations to come,\u201d said Senator Welch after the event. \u201cWe have a real opportunity to improve the Farm Bill. Right now, this bill just doesn\u2019t do enough to help Vermont\u2019s small and family dairy, specialty crop, or organic farmers. I\u2019ll keep working with my colleagues on the Committee to strengthen this bill.\u201d\n\nView photos from the event below:\n\nLast week, Senator Welch filed 42 amendments to Republicans\u2019 partisan Farm Bill, including amendments that would provide free access to the Dairy Margin Coverage Program (DMC) for eligible producers, improve data collection for organic dairy farmers, and help eliminate barriers for farmers entering the organics market. Senate Republicans\u2019 partisan Farm Bill failed in Committee and will be considered again when the Senate returns to Washington next month.\n\nThe Senator has championed legislation to expand federal support for organic dairy farmers and ensure fair prices for family dairies, including the bipartisan Domestic Organic Investment Act and the Organic Dairy Assistance, Investment, and Reporting Yields Act (O DAIRY) Act. The Senator also led 14 colleagues in introducing the Opportunities in Organic Act to reduce barriers to organic farming in Vermont. Senator Welch\u2019s bipartisan bill, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, was signed into law earlier this year.\n\nSenator Welch is the Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit. Learn more about Senator Welch\u2019s work by visiting his website or by following him on social media.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-13T06:17:16Z", "2026-08-13T06:18:13Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.welch.senate.gov/welch-discusses-farm-bill-with-organic-dairy-farmers-dairy-industry-leaders-in-addison/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0822510812431574, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}