State of the Union Address: Some Encouragement for Farmers

President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address on this week included comments on several issues that are important to Illinois farmers, including immigration, trade, energy, and rural development.

"We appreciate President Obama's stated commitment to comprehensive immigration reform," said Mark Maslyn, American Farm Bureau Federation's executive director of public policy. "Reforming U.S. immigration law remains essential to agriculture and a priority for Farm Bureau." Maslyn also noted that Farm Bureau's farm bill proposal is compatible with President Obama's statement regarding the need to focus on fiscal responsibility for our nation.

"We also noted that President Obama said he believes the federal government does not feel the need to micromanage farm-level activities," Masyln said. "We encourage the administration to embrace that spirit across the board when it comes to a wide range of burdensome regulations currently impacting farm and ranch activities."