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Harkin, Grassley comment on farm bill proposal Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Here is what others are saying about USDA's farm bill proposal released last week.
Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat and chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said the proposals contain several good ideas, along with others that raise serious questions.
"I'm especially concerned about the idea to put even more money in the old Freedom to Farm-type of payments, Harkin said.
Harkin said that while Johanns' proposal takes significant steps in making critical new investments in farm and rural renewable energy, conservation and rural economic development, it falls short.
"I was disappointed that the proposal fails to remedy the budget damage to the Conservation Security Program since the 2002 farm bill," Harkin said. "It does not restore CSP to a nationwide program so every producer at least has an opportunity to apply. That should be the goal."
Harkin said Johanns energy proposal isn't enough to meet the goals President Bush laid out in his State of the Union speech for increasing production of alternative and renewable fuels.
"While I support the rhetoric, I do not see adequate resources dedicated to backing it up," Harkin said.
Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said the proposal's effort to address inequitable farm payments is a step in the right direction.
"I was also happy to see they showed a commitment to developing agriculture-based renewable energy," said Grassley. "The farm bill will be an excellent venue to develop and promote robust policies to foster home-grown renewable resources and the administration's proposal is a good starting point for our debate in the Senate."
Grassley also liked the proposal's approach to conservation by focusing on the land that needs it most. Farmers should be allowed to put the most sensitive land into conservation and be allowed to farm the good land, Grassley said.
"... I was disappointed that the Secretary didn't address concentration, which I believe is one of the most important issues facing agriculture today," Grassley said.
"We are greatly encouraged that the USDA will advocate the continuation of the dairy price support program," said Jerry Kozak, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation. "Our organization is still working on its own detailed proposals for the future of the price support program, and it's heartening to know that we appear to be on the same wavelength as the agriculture department when it comes to the need to keep this safety net program."
"Secretary Johanns proposed an increase in direct payments, which in my view takes us back to the future -- back to a decoupled approach to farm payments," said Tom Buis, president of the National Farmers Union. "We've dealt with this system before, and we know it is unsuccessful."
Buis said the current farm program has saved roughly $20 billion since it was designed to rely primarily on a safety net that only provides support when prices are low.
"By encouraging more reliance on direct payments, payments will be too high when they don't need to be, and so low that they leave farmers out to dry when prices fall," Buis said.
Buis said problems with the current program can easily be remedied by establishing a permanent disaster program targeted at producers who actually suffer losses.
"Farm Bureau members from across the country have repeatedly and strongly emphasized the need to keep the 2007 farm bill consistent and very similar to the concepts in the current bill," said American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman. "We are keeping an open mind about the administration's proposal and intend to give it full consideration."
Farm Bureau members have spoken clearly about their preference for commodity programs that use loans, fixed-decoupled payments and countercyclical support for American agriculture, Stallman said. |
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