Chairwoman Stabenow to Convene Hearing on Weather Disasters, Effects on Agriculture, Economy

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, will convene a Committee hearing on Thursday, February 14 at 9:30 (EST).  The hearing will be held in Room 328 of the Russell Senate Office Building.  However, a live webcast of the hearing can be viewed on the Committee's website at http://ag.senate.gov.

The hearing, "Drought, Fire and Freeze:  The Economics of Disasters for America's Agricultural  Producers", will feature testimony from Dr. Joe Glauber, Chief Economist at USDA and Dr. Roger Pulwarty, Director of the National Integrated Drought Information System at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

Additional witnesses include:

• Dr. Leon LaSalle, a rancher from Havre, Montana;
• Ms. Anngie Steinbarger, a farmer from Edinburgh, Indiana;
• Mr. Jeff Send, a cherry farmer from Leelanau, Michigan; and
• Mr. Ben Ben Steffen, farmer, Steffen Ag., Inc., from Humboldt, Nebraska.

For additional information regarding the February 14 hearing, contact Ben Becker at (202) 224-5466 or ben_becker@ag.senate.gov.