House Committee on Agriculture

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In the U.S. House of Representatives, the House Committee on Agriculture has jurisdiction over food and agriculture issues. It is chaired, in the 111th Congress, by Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minnesota). The Ranking Minority Member is Frank Lucas (R-Oklahoma), and the Vice Chairman is Tim Holden (D-Pennsylvania).

Subcommittees[edit]

Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research[edit]

Chaired by Tim Holden, (D-Pennsylvania), this subcommittee deals with soil, water, and resource conservation, small watershed program, energy and biofuels, rural electrification, agricultural credit, and agricultural research, education and extension services.

Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition, and Forestry[edit]

Under chairman Joe Baca, (D-California (U.S. state)), the subcommittee deals with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, review and analysis, special investigations, food stamps, nutrition and consumer programs, forestry in general, and forest reserves other than those created from the public domain.

General Farm Commodities and Risk Management[edit]

Led by chairman Leonard Boswell, (D-Iowa), the responsibilities of this subcommittee are program and markets related to cotton and cottonseed, wheat, feed grains, soybeans, oilseeds, rice, dry beans, peas, lentils, the Commodity Credit Corporation, risk management including crop insurance and commodity exchanges.

Horticulture and Organic Agriculture[edit]

Dennis Cardoza (D-California (U.S. state)) chairs the subcommitee with jurisdiction over fruits and vegetables, honey and bees, marketing and promotion orders, plant pesticides, quarantine, adulteration of seeds, and insect pests, and organic agriculture.

Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry[edit]

The subcommittee, chaired by David Scott (D-Georgia), deals with livestock, dairy products, poultry, meat, seafood and seafood products, inspection, marketing, and promotion of such commodities, aquaculture, animal welfare, and grazing. It may fairly be said that it is the arm of Congress officially responsible for bull(s) and their output.

Rural Development, Biotechnology, Specialty Crops, and Foreign Agriculture[edit]

Mike McIntyre, (D-North Carolina (U.S. state)), the committee oversees peanuts, sugar, tobacco, marketing orders relating to such commodities, rural development, farm security and family farming matters, biotechnology, foreign agricultural assistance, and trade promotion programs, generally.