Noem amendment doomed

South Dakota got another 'F' today and learned that 77% of college students in the state graduate with crushing debt.

Rep. Kristi Noem's amendment to any farm/food bill will never see the light of day.

House just gaveled out until Monday, at which point they'll be in for the week and then recess til 2014. Good work!
— jennifer bendery (@jbendery) December 5, 2013

In NH, 80% of public college students graduate with debt. Where does your state stand? http://t.co/LFrZd9gPVm pic.twitter.com/X4yIewn48G
— ProPublica (@ProPublica) December 5, 2013

Farm bill conferees missed a self-imposed Thanksgiving deadline for reaching an agreement on a new farm bill. That's one thing not to be thankful for this holiday season, as it puts the possibility of a settlement before Jan. 1 – or possibly at all – in limbo. Noem said she didn’t disagree with wanting students to eat more nutritious foods, but she emphasized that she wanted mandates to be replaced with guidelines. [Barry Amundson, Tri-State Neighbor]

Surprise! Pink slime, cheese, sugar and carbohydrates: because she is an ALEC operative, Rep. Kristi Noem wants to fatten public school students even more than they are now.

Even invasive species like the Chinese Ring-necked Pheasant are suffering from industrial agriculture. South Dakota Game, Fish and Extirpate Commissioner Jeff Vonk believes his state is failing wildlife.





Amundson writes elsewhere in the Neighbor:

U.S. Sen. John Thune brought up another point in a letter to conferees. He recommended that conferees drop the farm bill's most controversial commodity title provision, which authorizes payments based on planted acres and fixed commodity prices. According to Thune, conferees first must reach agreement on basic core program provisions that are not only effective for the ag producers, but also are defensible to taxpayers and global trading partners. So on and on goes the drama of getting anything done in Washington, D.C.