By Tim Rohwer , Council Bluffs Daily

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, seemed confident on the completion of a new farm bill, though the process is “arduous,” he said during his weekly telephone news conference Thursday.Both chambers of Congress the previous day agreed to extend the benefits of the 2002 farm bill until April 18. It was to expire today. That action will ensure agriculture, conservation and nutrition programs in Iowa and across the country will continue without interruption until the new bill is completed, Harkin said.

By Darwin Danielson, Radio Iowa

An agreement is very near on a new farm bill, according to Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. He says both the U.S. House and Senate passed an extension to the massive agricultural measure on Wednesday, one that will run through April 18th.

Dan Looker,AgricultureOnline

The Senate on Wednesday voted to extend the current farm bill to April 18 and the House approved the extension late Wednesday evening.

By The Associated Press

CUMMING, Iowa — U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin this morning formally made his bid for a fifth term in the Senate, seeking to continue more than 30 years in national politics by declaring himself “a proud progressive” with a record of delivering for home-state voters.

By MIKE GLOVER | Quad City Times

DES MOINES, Iowa – U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin is expected to formally announce that he will seek a fifth term in office, which if successful would make him the longest serving Democrat in the state’s history.

“I will approach this campaign as I have every other,” Harkin said Thursday. “That is, I will approach it as if I’m running for the first time.”