Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA) today praised the passage of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, The Farm Bill, out of the House Committee on Agriculture, which includes hard-fought wins and recognitions for Georgia farmers.

Included in this bill is Rep. Carter’s request for a study on the Hurricane Insurance Protection – Wind Index (HIP-WI) program and renaming of the U.S. National Poultry Research Center in Athens, Georgia, after the late President of the Georgia Poultry Federation, Francis “Abit” Massey.

“Representing the number one state in which to do business, where agribusiness is our top industry, this bill has my strong support. It will bring great relief to farmers who work hard every day to feed our nation while honoring a remarkable Georgian whose legacy should never be forgotten,” said Rep. Carter.

“The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 is such a strong piece of legislation because of the commitment of Members like Rep. Carter,” said Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA), Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture. “This study is a step in the right direction for providing adequate risk management tools for producers during extreme weather.”

The HIP-WI program is a wind-based insurance option managed by the USDA designed to protect farmers impacted by hurricanes. However, Hurricane Helene exposed that the program is vulnerable to inaccuracies, leaving farmers who experienced significant crop losses without protection. This bill would authorize a study to examine the loss of crop insurance coverage caused by a weather station outage, assess contingency plans, and report on the feasibility of obtaining data from land-grant colleges and universities or other third-party sources to support HIP-WI and Georgia farmers.

The bill also includes a provision to rename the U.S. National Poultry Research Center in Athens, Georgia, after the late Francis “Abit” Massey, who passed away in June 2024 at the age of 96. Mr. Massey served as President of the Georgia Poultry Federation for 48 years and was recognized statewide for his leadership and instrumental role in establishing Georgia as a leading poultry producer, now a multi-billion-dollar industry.

“We applaud the actions of Congressman Buddy Carter and the House Agriculture Committee to include a report investigating the reliability of data coming from NOAA weather stations,” said Tom McCall, President of the Georgia Farm Bureau. “Our farmers are completely reliant on these weather stations functioning accurately every day of the year, but especially when natural disasters strike. This report marks a great step forward to ensure any problems standing in the way of that goal are addressed.”

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