Strengthening Farmers Markets & Budget Agreement Unveiled But No Farm Bill Yet

I'm Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

The Washington State Farmers Market Association's annul conference will be held January 31 through February 2 at the Heathman Lodge in Vancouver. The three day event will include workshops on how to set retail pricing, capturing local food dollars, employee recruiting, training and management, strengthening customer relationships, and extending the farmers market season. Wrapping up the event will be a local farm tour of Clark County Farms and the Hillsdale Farmers Market. For more information visit www.wafarmersmarkets.com.

Late Tuesday House and Senate negotiators Patty Murray and Paul Ryan unveiled a budget agreement that reduces the deficit by more than $23 billion over the next decade, does not raise taxes, and will fund federal agencies through the fall of 2015. Senate Chair Patty Murray made this comment.

MURRAY: Well, for far too long here in Washington DC compromise has been considered a dirty word especially when it comes to the federal budget. Over the past few years we have lurched from crisis to crisis and from one cliff to the next. That uncertainty was devastating to our fragile economic recovery. This deal builds on the $2.5 trillion dollars in deficit reduction we have done since 2011 and continues the precedent that we set in the fiscal cliff deal that sequestration shouldn't be replaced with spending cuts alone.

Farm Bill negotiators announced that they will not be delivering a farm bill before Congress goes home for the year. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas filed a six-page short-term extension of current farm law through Jan. 31, 2014, stating that he wanted the House to have this option to consider before it goes home Friday.

That's Washington Ag Today.

I'm Lacy Gray on the Ag Information Network.