WASHINGTON (Sep 19, 2008)—During the farm bill debate, critics of farm policy were quick to accuse the men and women who feed and clothe the country of preferential treatment. Farm bill opponents pushed for a restrictive cap—based on a farmer’s adjusted gross income or AGI—to limit who can receive benefits from the farm safety net.…
DetailsWASHINGTON (Sep 12, 2008)—The “farm bill” might sound like a piece of legislation that deals strictly with agricultural policy, but it is far from narrowly focused. Every month, Farm Policy Facts will dissect a title of the bill to illustrate its breadth and importance to people all over our country – not just farmers. This…
DetailsWASHINGTON (Aug 22, 2008)—Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, and Virginia will be the big battleground states in the upcoming presidential election, according to a recent analysis by CNN. And with the exception of New Hampshire, agriculture is a dominate industry in all of them. No wonder the candidates…
DetailsWASHINGTON (July 25, 2008)—Following the announcement of a trade concession a few years ago, a Minnesota farmer gave a local reporter a quote for the ages. “We need to have uniforms made up for our trade negotiators so they know what team they play for,” he said. Now with current WTO trade talks headed in…
DetailsTalks in the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have collapsed again because Brazil, China, and India were unwilling to bend. Despite a powerful letter from 17 of the 21 members of the Senate Agriculture Committee and a clear message from the agricultural community, U.S. trade negotiators offered even more concessions in Geneva.…
DetailsWASHINGTON (July 14, 2008)—Farmers on both sides of the pond today came out swinging against the direction of international trade negotiations. “With a decisive Ministerial to be held next week, the undersigned organizations, representing America’s farmers and ranchers, wish to express their continued deep concern about the status and direction of the Doha Round of…
DetailsMEMPHIS – Criticisms of U.S. cotton farm programs are unwarranted. The truth: U.S. farm programs have operated as designed, supporting farmers’ incomes in times of low prices while allowing them to react to market signals. A report that dispels myths about U.S. farm law support to America’s cotton farmers can be found on the National…
DetailsWASHINGTON (June 27, 2008)—If it seems like Congress was voting on the farm bill every time you turned around, it’s probably because they have been. And industry insiders fear that the farm bill will not fade from the forefront anytime soon. The first public farm bill fight centered on the now-infamous Kind-Flake amendment. Despite the…
DetailsWASHINGTON (June 23, 2008)—Despite expressing some concerns with the farm bill, the U.S. Department of Agriculture appears to be making implementation of the new law a top priority. In a press release sent out yesterday, the USDA announced 2008 loan rates as well as new marketing assistance loan and loan deficiency payment provisions from the…
DetailsThe farm bill has endured some rough obstacles in its venture to become law. Thankfully, many congressional members backed the farm bill to the very end. Farm Policy Facts would like to highlight some of their statements in support of the farm bill. “This is good legislation. It is good for the country and certainly…
DetailsWASHINGTON (May 23, 2008)—Despite a technical error and widespread confusion, 14 out of the 15 titles of the farm bill became law yesterday after the U.S. Senate voted to override President Bush’s veto. The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to override the veto. A technical glitch led to one of the bill’s sections—the title…
DetailsBy: Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 15, 2008: I come to the floor to ask my colleagues to work with me to pass one of the most critical economic stimulus packages this body will have a chance to vote on all year. This is a balanced proposal, both ensuring the viability…
DetailsBy: Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 15, 2008: Why a bill at all? Well, because our major competitors have much more ambitious support for their producers than we have for ours. This is a fact. The Europeans are providing more than three times as much support to their producers than we…
DetailsBy: Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 14, 2008: We have come to a point where I believe we have a good bill that should be supported by all Members of this Congress from both urban, suburban and rural areas. I have here a chart that shows how the current farm bill…
DetailsBy: Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 14, 2008: This farm bill contains solid reforms while addressing a variety of issues including forestry, rural development, renewable energy, nutrition, conservation, research, specialty crops, and livestock and still maintains the safety net necessary to ensure a safe, reliable and affordable domestic food supply. This…
DetailsBy: Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 15, 2008: [F]arming is a critical part of the economy in my home state of Washington. Many people don’t know it, but Washington is the Nation’s 11th-largest farm State. And we are the third-largest producer of fruits and vegetables–which are also known around here as…
DetailsBy: Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 15, 2008: This farm bill is important for a lot of reasons. I don’t have time to get into all the details of why I think this bill is important, but it does preserve a strong safety net. It does provide a permanent disaster title,…
DetailsBy: Rep. Leonard Boswell (D – Iowa) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 14, 2008: Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this conference report… As chairman of the Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Subcommittee, working with my ranking member over here, Mr. Hayes, we have got the first-ever livestock title. It offers producers much-needed protections and…
DetailsBy: Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 15, 2008: [T]oo few Americans realize how important America’s farmers and ranchers are to the economy and the security of this country. Over the last few years, major newspapers and Washington special interest groups have been busy demeaning our Nation’s farmers and ranchers… These attacks…
DetailsBy: Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 14, 2008: [T]his bill is a victory for farmers, a victory for communities, a victory for rural America. As chairman of the Rural Development Subcommittee, I’m pleased that this conference report contains strong rural development title that supports small business, expands access to broadband, and…
DetailsBy: Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 15, 2008: In an age of skyrocketing energy prices, economic uncertainty, and now a global food crisis, there is at least one thing we should be able to be certain of: our Nation’s food security. We cannot take for granted our ability to feed ourselves,…
DetailsWASHINGTON (May 15, 2008)—More than 1,000 farm, nutrition, and conservation organizations sent a letter to Congress today asking legislators to override President Bush’s veto of the bipartisan farm bill passed last week. Industry insiders noted that this letter was even larger than a similar group letter sent to Congress last week by 557 groups urging…
DetailsWASHINGTON (May 15, 2008) — After weeks of veto threats from the White House, lawmakers handed President Bush a stunning defeat this week by passing the farm bill by a veto proof margin. The U.S. House of Representatives was expected to be a major battleground, with farm bill supporters and opponents lobbying hard for every…
DetailsBy: Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 14, 2008: [T]his bill is a victory for farmers, a victory for communities, a victory for rural America. I realize that fewer and fewer Americans have a direct connection to the land. One reason is because it’s becoming quite tough to make a living in…
DetailsWASHINGTON (May 14, 2008) — A coalition of Texas-based businesses and farmers are united with a clear message to Congress: support the farm bill. A letter to Members of Congress from the Southwest Council of Agribusiness, representing non-profit agricultural organizations, agribusinesses and financial institutions, urged support for the farm bill that is expected to reach…
DetailsWASHINGTON (May 14, 2008) — In a letter sent to every member of the Louisiana Congressional delegation yesterday, leaders from the state’s agricultural sector asked lawmakers “to work with others in Washington, D.C. to over-ride the [expected Presidential] veto before it occurs by overwhelmingly approving the farm bill now.” “While none of us achieved everything…
DetailsWASHINGTON (May 13, 2008)—More than 500 farm, nutrition, and conservation organizations sent a letter to Congress today urging legislators to vote in favor of the farm bill this week. Industry insiders believe this is one of the largest group letters ever sent on an agricultural issue, showing the unity among groups with varying political and…
DetailsDear Representative: On behalf of the USA Rice Federation and its producer, miller, and merchant members and allied businesses, we urge your vote in support of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (H.R. 2419 – Farm Bill) that is scheduled for a vote this week in both the House and Senate. Even though…
DetailsBy: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) Excerpt from Congressional Record May 15, 2008: America’s farm safety net was created during the Great Depression as an essential reform to help support rural communities and protect struggling family farmers from the financial shocks of volatile weather and equally volatile commodity prices. Almost 75 years later the reasons for…
DetailsWASHINGTON (May 9, 2008)—Just moments after details of the farm bill conference report surfaced, Republican lawmakers started signaling their support for the new bill, even if that means voting to override a possible veto by President Bush. Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss, the top Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, said he is backing the bill…
DetailsWASHINGTON (May 7, 2008)—The furor over grocery store sticker shock reached a boiling point last Thursday as the Congressional Joint Economic Committee held a hearing to investigate the impact these food prices are having on everyday Americans. Tom Buis, the president of the National Farmers Union, told the Committee that he and all growers sympathize…
DetailsWASHINGTON (Apr. 30, 2008)—With the farm community’s attention focused squarely on finishing the farm bill deliberations, little notice was paid to an important meeting held at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) last week. Bart Chilton, a CFTC Commissioner, said of the meeting to examine the impact of crop prices on farmers, “Commodity prices are…
DetailsIn the fifth installment of our ongoing series about the unsubstantiated claims from farm policy opponents, Farm Policy Facts will examine a recent claim made by the Bush Administration about the farm bill that’s left a lot of folks on the Hill scratching their heads. Myth: This farm bill does not meet Administration demands and…
DetailsIn the fourth installment of our ongoing series about the unsubstantiated claims by farm policy opponents, Farm Policy Facts will take a closer look at a recent claim made by the Bush Administration about the pending farm bill. Myth: “At a time of record farm incomes, Congress decided to further increase farm subsidy rates.” -Agriculture…
DetailsIn the third installment of our ongoing series about the unsubstantiated claims by farm policy opponents, Farm Policy Facts will examine the relationship between farm payments and food production. Myth: U.S. farm policy benefits corporate agribusinesses at the expense of the family farm. The Truth: Corporate Agribusinesses as you would think of it (global firms…
DetailsIn the second installment of our ongoing series about the unsubstantiated claims by farm policy opponents, Farm Policy Facts will examine the notion that commodity programs break the bank. Myth: Federal farm programs are outrageously expensive and U.S. Taxpayers would benefit from their elimination. The Truth: Commodity programs have always accounted for less than one…
DetailsPresident John Adams once said, “Facts are stubborn things.” Opponents of farm policy obviously didn’t get the memo. During this farm bill, a handful of special interest groups and big city papers have continued to regurgitate numerous myths about farm programs even though the numbers prove these arguments to be blatantly false. Over the next…
DetailsBy: Senator Norm Coleman After months of negotiations, congressional negotiators are on the cusp of a farm bill agreement that’ll provide the framework necessary to quickly complete reauthorization of the nation’s farm policy. This will be the product of a consistent, bipartisan, cross-regional and bicameral effort in Congress. With the spring planting season nearly upon…
DetailsWASHINGTON (Apr. 9, 2008)—“It has become painfully obvious that, even though the 2007 sugarcane crop was a good one in most areas, most growers showed little or no profit,” a well-respected agricultural consultant in southern Louisiana told local ag leaders in a letter last month. According to Dr. Calvin Viator, the letter’s author, input prices…
DetailsWASHINGTON (Apr. 1, 2008)—In April 2002—as Congress was struggling to pass a farm bill-CNN ran a story about high oil prices. Oil futures in New York were $27.38 a barrel at the time of this story, which proclaimed, “[T]he impact of rising wholesale prices since September has already spilled over at the pumps…there appears to…
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