Agriculture
As the U.S. Senate’s only working farmer, Jon knows that agriculture is the backbone of Montana’s economy.
Jon farms the same land in northcentral Montana that his grandparents homesteaded over a century ago, and he understands firsthand the challenges facing family farmers and ranchers.
As a member of the Senate’s Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, Jon knows Montana producers need a Farm Bill that strengthens safety nets and allows family farms and ranches to survive periods of low commodity prices. The Farm Bill needs to be a tool that farmers and ranchers can use to increase competition in the marketplace, invest in new research, and increase access to ports along the northern border.
Jon is also fighting to expand access to markets so farmers can sell their products in countries like China and Cuba while maintaining and expanding market access in Mexico and Canada. Jon is committed to working with the Administration on trade agreements that meet the needs of producers while keeping jobs here in Montana.
Jon is also fighting to cut taxes for Montana’s farmers and ranchers, ensuring that they can keep their equipment up to date.
Above all, Jon is fighting to ensure Montana producers have access to the resources they need to grow their bottom lines, strengthen their communities, and pass down their operations to the next generation—just like Jon hopes to pass his farm down to his grandkids.
Related News
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July 2, 2020| View More
Tester Secures Two of his Landmark Mental Health Provisions for Servicemembers, Farmers in Must-Pass Annual Defense Bill
U.S. Senator Jon Tester successfully secured his Care and Readiness Enhancement (CARE) for Reservists Act and Seeding Rural Resilience Act in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – two critical mental health bills aimed at curbing the rising rate of suicide among servicemembers and farmers.
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June 5, 2020| View More
Tester to USDA: ‘Indian Country needs emergency food and nutrition assistance now’ in Wake of Pandemic
U.S. Senator Jon Tester, a senior member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and Committee Chairman Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) strongly urged U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to immediately make use of $50 million in Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) purchasing funds to ensure food security …
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May 21, 2020| View More
Tester Secures Victories for Montana Ag Producers and Rural Businesses from USDA
Continuing his push to provide relief to Montana farmers and ranchers who have been hit hard by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today secured two victories from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help producers build and meet working capital needs during the …
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May 13, 2020| View More
Tester, Rounds and Colleagues Fight to Reinstate Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling
U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) along with a bipartisan group of their colleagues today introduced a resolution to support country of origin labeling (COOL) for beef products in the United States in an effort to provide critical support to American cattle producers hurt by the COVID-19 …
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May 13, 2020| View More
Tester Keeps His COOL, Fights for Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling as Part of Rancher Relief Plan
In the third plank of his Rancher Relief Plan to provide urgent support to Montana cattle producers hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today reintroduced—for the first time ever with a Republican—his resolution to support country of origin labeling (COOL) for beef products along with Senator Mike …
