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Ranking Member's Welcome


House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin C. Peterson, D-Minn.

Welcome, and thank you for visiting the House Agriculture Committee Democrats' website. We hope that you will find the information available here to be useful and interesting. 

The responsibilities and goals of the House Committee on Agriculture are as diverse as the needs of  American agriculture. We face issues as varied as renewable energy, rural development, nutrition, crop insurance, conservation, international trade, futures market regulation, animal and plant health, agricultural research and development, bioterrorism, forestry and many others.

Our challenge is to find ways to address the diverse needs of agriculture in regions with very different products, climates and experiences. We must continue to work together to find ways to not only support our nation's agricultural production but also to ensure that American consumers continue to have access to the world's safest, most abundant food and agriculture products.

This is no small challenge, but there are diverse and strong voices that are helping us shape the future of farm policy in the United States. I am committed to leading the committee with openness and accessibility to all ideas. We will hold public hearings and open meetings to discuss farm policy and specific legislation, and the public is welcome to attend these meetings or listen in real time on our website (Live Audio). If you would like to sign up for news updates or receive an e-mail when we update the Committee’s schedule, you can do that on our web site as well (E-mail Updates).

This is an exciting time for American agriculture, and we on the Committee are dedicated to creating federal policy that will facilitate the great work of our nation’s farmers and ranchers.

For more than 185 years, the House Committee on Agriculture has established farm policy for agriculture and rural America in the nation's capital. Our nation was founded on the strength of agriculture production, which helped to establish us among the world's most powerful and prosperous nations. The importance of agriculture in the United States has only grown, as our nation's farmers and ranchers produce the food, fiber and products that keep our nation strong and bountiful and that help feed a hungry world.