The National Farmers Union wrote to lawmakers this week expressing opposition to language included in the 2017 Agriculture Apparitions Bill urging exemptions for producer-funded checkoff’s from Freedom of Information Act requests. Farmers Union President Roger Johnson told lawmakers this week the exemption would suggest “that we, as producers, have something to hide,” according to Politico. The House Appropriations Committee approved the bill with the Freedom of Information Act language last month. USDA told the Hagstrom Report earlier this week that the exemption “wouldn’t work” because USDA most abide by laws set by Congress, including the Freedom of Information Act. The bill still needs approval by the full House, and the Senate has yet to consider appropriation bills.
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