Food and Agriculture

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) joined a bipartisan group of colleagues today in a meeting with Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue focused on improving the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) efforts to recruit and train veteran farmers. NOTE: Photos from meeting attached. “Veterans and farming are a natural fit. As we’ve seen in Maine, these men and women… Read more »

At the Capitol today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) hosted a briefing on produce prescription programs, an element of the food is medicine movement that is proving effective at improving people’s diets and health outcomes by increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Launching a national produce prescription pilot program called Harvesting Health is one provision of HR… Read more »

At an awards dinner last night, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) received a 2017 Leadership Award from the James Beard Foundation for her work on national food system reform. Read more »

The USDA’s Farmer Fair Practice Rules would have helped level the playing field between contract poultry farmers and the large processors they contract with. Read more »

PORTLAND, ME—Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) today announced over $1 million in USDA funding to support a number of local food projects throughout Maine, including a $500,000 award to build up Greater Portland’s food processing infrastructure.  “Increasing the production and consumption of local food represents a fantastic opportunity for Maine jobs and… Read more »

“I will dearly miss Gus, who was a good friend and a trusted partner in our shared work to reform the food system. ..." Read more »

"I’m very concerned by the loopholes USDA Office of Inspector General’s found in the verification and inspection process that have allowed non-organic food from other countries to be sold as organic in the U.S.," Congresswoman Pingree said. Read more »

Today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and more than two dozen federal lawmakers from across New England sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue requesting that dairy milk be designated as an agricultural commodity eligible for Federal Crop Insurance and that the Risk Management Agency (RMA) to develop additional insurance products for dairy farmers. Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, released the following statement on the FY18 Agriculture Appropriations bill.  The House Appropriations Committee passed the bill today.   “While I would like to have seen more funding for certain programs in this bill, I’m glad that the funding levels generally… Read more »

With three days left until the registration deadline, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree is encouraging farmers to sign up for the USDA’s 2017 Census of Agriculture and make sure they’re counted. “The USDA Census of Agriculture collects important information every five years about the state of farming in America and how it’s changing. In Congress, the data is key to… Read more »