Food and Agriculture

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree announced today that over $2 million in USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) grants will be awarded to the University of Maine and a Waterville small business to advance Maine’s agricultural economy. FoodCorps, a program that offers food and agriculture education programs in several Maine communities, also received… Read more »

Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and David Young (R-Iowa)—co-chairs of the House Food Waste Caucus—as well as Lynn Jenkins (R-Kansas) and Jim McGovern (D-Mass.)—co-chairs of the House Hunger Caucus—have together introduced H.Res. 1113, a resolution in the House designating tomorrow, October 16, 2018, as “World Food Day.” Each year, the United… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) announced today that Maine organizations will receive more than $1 million in funding from the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to recruit and train beginning farmers as well as assist farmers with chronic health issues and disabilities. Grants will go to the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, Somali Bantu Community… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) today led a bipartisan letter of 43 House members urging leadership of the Farm Bill conference committee to include the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) in the legislation’s final text. LAMP would consolidate numerous existing programs that support new market development into a single streamlined program with permanent, mandatory… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree released the following statement today in response to an update provided by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb  on the agency’s plans to revise its guidance for “added sugars” on packages of pure maple syrup and honey. Pingree has been a vocal advocate for rewriting confusing guidance that was issued earlier this year. “The FDA… Read more »

Last week, Ranking Member Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME-01), and Congressman Mark Pocan (WI-02), the four democratic members of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, sent a letter to Secretary Perdue at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to express their concerns with the agency’s proposal… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) today announced a total of nearly $530,000 in federal grants for several small businesses in Southern Maine. The funds comes from two USDA Rural Development programs Pingree has strongly advocated for in Congress—the Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) and Value Added Producer Grants (VAPG). “These REAP grants will allow local… Read more »

UPDATE: Read the bipartisan letter sent to the Farm Bill conferees in support of including LAMP in final legislation. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), local food was a $8.7 billion market for farmers in 2015.  This market does not show signs of slowing down, as USDA estimates that the local food market will reach $20 billion in sales by 2019.… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) released the following statement in response to USDA’s plan to offer $12 billion in relief to farmers harmed in the wake of the Administration’s trade actions.  “While I appreciate the USDA for finally offering some relief to farmers who have been harmed by retaliatory tariffs, this effort is an acknowledgment of the costs of… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) announced today that two farms in her District will receive USDA Rural Development Value-Added Producer Grants to expand their businesses and launch new product lines. Pingree has been steadfast in her opposition to proposed cuts to this vital program, which has a track record of helping rural businesses succeed and hire more workers. “Farmers… Read more »