WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today issued the following statement after the President signed into law the Agricultural Reauthorization Act, which includes a provision Heitkamp wrote to require a report helping North Dakota grain growers.

“North Dakota wheat and barley producers are losing out because they can’t sell their grain into Canada for the same prices as Canadian producers,” said Heitkamp. “But soon that could change. My provision will give us the confirmation we need to hold Canada to its trade obligations and level the playing field for our producers. North Dakota farmers deserve to sell their grain to Canadian elevators at fair prices, and it’s good news for our state that the provision I wrote was signed into law and will help our producers do just that.”

North Dakota wheat and barley growers face unfair rules when selling to Canadian elevators, while Canadian growers aren’t subjected to the same discriminatory treatment when delivering to North Dakota. Heitkamp’s provision will help level the playing field, requiring the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to study whether or not Canadian policies comply with its trade obligations as well as report on its efforts to rectify the discrimination.

In May, Heitkamp’s provision was included on a bill reauthorizing the U.S. Grain Standards Act, which instructs USDA to conduct grain inspections that help establish market standards. As part of a three-bill package reauthorizing agricultural programs, the Grain Standards Act successfully passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee, on which Heitkamp sits, and passed the full Senate on September 21. The House passed the same bill on Monday, sending it to the president’s desk.

In addition to reauthorizing the Grain Standards Act, the bill reauthorizes the Mandatory Price Reporting Act – which helps ranchers receive fair prices – and the National Forest Foundation Act. The Mandatory Price Reporting Act and the Grain Standards Act authorities would have expired Wednesday without Congressional action.

As a member of the Agriculture Committee and Ranking Member on Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy, Heitkamp has worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen programs that are critical to North Dakota families and farmers – from crop insurance to the school lunch program.