{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://adriansmith.house.gov/largest-agriculture-district-america", "The Largest Agriculture District in America", "2014-10-02", "2014", "2014-10", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The economy, culture, and values of rural America are largely shaped by agriculture.\u00a0 This is especially true of Nebraska\u2019s Third Congressional District.\u00a0 We are incredibly grateful for the contributions and innovations of our ag producers which not only fuel our economy, but feed the world.\u00a0\nA new report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) now confirms the Third District is the largest agriculture district in America based on total value of products sold.\u00a0 We are the second largest district in value of livestock and poultry, and the third in value of crops.\nBecause of the incredible success of our agriculture producers, it is more important now than ever for federal policy to support their efforts rather than undermine them.\u00a0 Implementation of the 2014 Farm Bill is an important step in this process, which will provide farmers with a choice of a price or revenue-based assistance if there is a loss.\u00a0\nThe new Farm Bill eliminates direct payments, counter-cyclical payments and the ACRE program.\u00a0 In their place, three programs were created for covered commodities or program crops: Agriculture Risk Coverage, County Option (ARC-CO), Agriculture Risk Coverage, Individual Farm Coverage (ARC-IC), and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) with the option to buy the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) on insurance.\u00a0\nFarmers will be able to visit their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices to learn more about these tools and make the best decision for their operation. \u00a0Producers will have through early spring of 2015 to select a program.\nThe new Farm Bill increased funding for outreach to the next generation of producers, including beginning farmers and veterans.\u00a0 This concept is not new in the State of Nebraska, which has been recognized nationally for its success in recruiting beginning farmers and ranchers.\u00a0 Recently I had the opportunity to visit a veteran participating in the \u201cHomegrown by Heroes\u201d marketing program which has helped start and grow a business in the heart of the Third District. \u00a0Additionally, the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture offers initiatives like the \u201c100-cow\u201d program for beginning farmers and the \u201cCombat Boots to Cowboy Boots\u201d program for veterans.\u00a0 These are great examples of innovative ways to get young people involved in farming and support those who have served our country in uniform.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\nAs we continue to look for ways to expand production at home it is also important to open new markets for our products abroad.\u00a0 We are producing an abundance of affordable, nutritious food which could help feed people around the world while befitting our consumers at home.\u00a0 The Third District is currently the fifth largest exporter of agricultural goods.\nWith the continued success of agriculture, we must remain vigilant and responsive to the needs of producers to foster their continued growth.\u00a0 Smart policy and continued innovation will help feed the world, and producers and rural America to thrive.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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": ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/largest-agriculture-district-america"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.093824092298746, "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"}