April 26 - Senate Ag Committee Marks Up Farm Bill

Johanns' Remarks At Farm Bill Mark-Up

U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) today, along with the rest of the Senate Agriculture Committee, began work on a mark-up of the farm bill.  A transcript of his remarks can be found here...  Below are excerpts from Johanns' remarks:

·         "I'm in the camp of saying 'Let's move forward.' I'm going to support your efforts today because I do believe it's a great first step and we need to move this process along."

·         "We all recognize, including our farmers and ranchers, that our nation's budget situation is more daunting than ever. With our country's total national debt over $15 trillion the government is now borrowing about 42 cents of every dollar [spent]. This farm bill though, like no other committee that I'm aware of, has taken on the responsibility of providing deficit reduction, and as you and the Ranking Member have pointed out, this farm bill saves at least $24.7 billion. You can only imagine if other committees would accept the same responsibility how big a step we would take in dealing with our deficit issues."

·         “What I have heard and what I think members of this Committee have heard is the crop insurance plan offers the best opportunity to go to a more market-oriented farm bill… I think it's a significant step in the right direction for farm policy."



Johanns Statement Following Ag Committee Passage of Farm Bill
Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) today issued the following statement after the Senate Agriculture Committee passed a draft of the farm bill:  "This farm bill is a positive step toward simple, responsible, and more market-oriented ag policy. I'm pleased that the Agriculture Committee has taken steps to reduce the deficit, and with the example it sets in how a committee can come together in a bipartisan way. Specifically, moving away from direct payments while bolstering the crop insurance program is good for our farmers and ranchers and good for American agriculture."



ASA Commends Senate Ag Committee on Completing Farm Bill Mark-Up

By a vote of 12-4, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry passed its version of the 2012 Farm Bill, referring the legislation to the full Senate. The American Soybean Association voiced its support for the bill late last week, and ASA President Steve Wellman, a farmer from Syracuse, Neb., had this to say about the Committee’s action today:

“ASA is very pleased with the Senate Agriculture Committee’s work today, and throughout the Farm Bill process. As passed by the Committee, this legislation will serve the needs not only of soybean farmers, but of the entire farming community. The dedication shown by Chairwoman Stabenow, Ranking Member Roberts, and the entire Committee is recognized and appreciated by the soybean industry, and has resulted in a bill that not only provides important risk management tools and funding for export promotion, energy, biobased products and research, but also helps agriculture do its part to address the nation’s budget deficits.

“ASA is encouraged that the bill includes a revenue-based risk management program that is equitable between crops, and will partially offset losses incurred at either the farm level or the county level. Other key features of the bill include its consolidation of multiple conservation programs, targeting of conservation funding toward conservation measures on working lands versus land retirement, authorization and funding for the new Foundation for Food and Agriculture, full funding of the Foreign Market Development Program (Cooperator) and Market Access Program (MAP), and mandatory funding for ASA’s two Energy Title priorities, the Biobased Market Program and the Biodiesel Education Program.

“ASA again expresses its full support and commends the Committee for its work on this important legislation. We look forward to continuing to work with the Senate Agriculture Committee to enact an effective farm bill for American soybean producers in 2012 as the bill now moves to the Senate floor.”



Center for Rural Affairs applauds amendment of Senate Farm Bill

Today, the Center for Rural Affairs praised the Senate Agriculture Committee for closing loopholes in the farm payment limitation.

“We applaud the Senate Ag Committee for passing a Farm Bill that for the first time in a generation closes the gaping loopholes that have made a mockery of the farm program payment limitation,” said Chuck Hassebrook of the Center for Rural Affairs. “Most of all, we thank Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) for his tireless advocacy for reducing subsidies for mega farms to drive family farms out of business.”

According to Hassebrook, closing the loopholes is a critical step. And the next step is to apply those limits to uncapped premium subsidies for federal crop insurance, the most expensive element of the farm program. “If one corporation farmed every acre in America,” said Hassebrook. “The federal government would pay 60 percent of its crop insurance premiums on every acre, every year.”

“Crop insurance subsidies are highest in times of high prices - when they are needed least. That’s because it costs more to insure $6 corn than $4 corn. Crop insurance costs have doubled in the last 5 years and quadrupled in the last 10 years,” Hassebrook continued.

The Center for Rural Affairs also praised Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) for working to fund rural development programs through the farm bill. “If passed as it now stands,” said Hassebrook, “this farm bill will be the first in a generation to include no funding for rural development.” Brown and Nelson are pressing to change that before the bill comes before the full Senate.

The Center also praised Senators John Thune (R-SD), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Mike Johanns (R-NE) for winning a sodsaver provision that will reduce federal crop insurance subsidy premiums for breaking out erosion prone native grasslands for crop production.




NCGA Appreciates Efforts to Pass Farm Bill out of Senate Ag Committee

National Corn Growers Association President Garry Niemeyer released the following statement in response to the Senate Agriculture Committee’s passage of the 2012 farm bill:

“The National Corn Growers Association appreciates the efforts by the Senate Agriculture Committee to pass the 2012 farm bill.  We realize a lot of hard work was put in by committee members and staff over the past several days and we are pleased to see an agreement was reached.  While no legislative product is perfect, we believe the bulk of the legislation passed by the committee is consistent with corn growers’ policy.”

“We look forward to working with Senate Ag Committee members and the entire Senate to get a bill passed on the floor in the month of May.”



AEC Applauds Reauthorization of Critical USDA Energy Title Programs

Today, the Senate Agriculture Committee marked up the 2012 Farm Bill, including an amendment to reauthorize mandatory funding for a number of critical energy title programs designed to spur the development of homegrown, renewable energy in rural America. The Advanced Ethanol Council issued the following statement:

“The Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC) applauds the leadership of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and specifically Chairwoman Stabenow and Senators Conrad and Lugar, in assuring continued mandatory funding for critical USDA energy title programs. There is no more urgent need in this country today than creating new jobs and reducing our dependence on foreign oil. The programs reauthorized and streamlined today are doing just that, and will continue to help the United States create jobs and replace foreign oil with homegrown, renewable energy production when signed into law. While it is very important to also address the tax piece for advanced biofuels by the end of the year, this is a critical first step toward providing continuity for American farmers and advanced biofuel producers while exceeding the committee’s goals for deficit reduction.”



Senate Agriculture Committee Passes Dairy Reform in 2012 Farm Bill
John Wilson, DFA Senior Vice President

“On behalf of Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.’s (DFA) Board of Directors and management, we commend Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Sen. Pat Roberts and all the members of the Senate Agriculture Committee for their effort to improve federal dairy programs for U.S. dairy farmers.  By including provisions of the Dairy Security Act in the Agriculture, Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012 (Farm Bill), the committee has taken an important first step in truly reforming the dairy safety net, providing producers the tools they need to remain competitive in the global market and facilitate the industry’s growth and long-term sustainability.

Since the devastating dairy economy crash of 2009, dairy farmers, industry organizations and cooperatives – including DFA – have worked to develop a new system that better protects the interests of producers in a highly volatile industry.

The dairy provisions included in the Farm Bill provide producers options to protect their margins and the ability to strengthen exports, both of which will be instrumental in maintaining the vitality of the U.S. dairy industry. We appreciate the support of the committee and look forward to fighting for the bill’s passage on the Senate floor.”



25x'25 Commends Senate Agriculture Committee for Providing Mandatory Funding for Farm Bill Energy Programs

The National 25x'25 Alliance today commended members of the Senate Agriculture Committee for voting to provide mandatory funding for energy programs in the 2012 Farm Bill proposal being marked up this week.

The Alliance is particularly grateful to Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Richard Lugar, R-Ind., for drafting the amendment, which gained the support of many other senators from both sides of the aisle. By adopting language in the Energy Title of the new farm bill that would assure funding is available for a number of key farm energy programs, the Senate Agriculture Committee is encouraging the development of advanced biofuels and promoting other renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in rural America.

The Conrad-Lugar amendment would set mandatory funding totaling $241 million over five years for Rural Energy for America Program and $193 million for Bioenergy Crop Assistance Program. Another $216 million would be required over the life of the new farm bill for the Biorefinery Assistance Program, $130 million, while $15 million would be allotted for the Biobased Markets Program, and $5 million for a Biodiesel Education Program.

However, the Alliance calls on all renewable energy advocates to maintain their support throughout the legislative and appropriations process, noting that the continued existence of these farm energy programs is far from guaranteed. The measure still faces a Senate floor vote, and House members are expected to come up with a far different energy title.

Without mandatory spending, Congress could authorize little to no money for programs that have helped revitalize rural America, allowed new agricultural markets emerge and reduced the need for direct payments to farmers. The programs, which have no authorization beyond the end of the current farm bill Sept. 30, are zeroed out under Congressional Budget Office baseline estimates.



Senator Proposes New Livestock Risk Management Tool

Recognizing the global footprint of the U.S. pork industry and its associated risks, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., today got included in the Senate Agriculture Committee’s 2012 Farm Bill a provision that will look at protecting hog farmers should foreign markets close.

Klobuchar’s amendment, cosponsored by Senator Grassley from Iowa and part of a package of riders offered as a manager’s amendment to the farm legislation, calls for a study on setting up catastrophic risk-management insurance for pork producers to cover input costs lost because of an animal disease or event that stops exports of U.S. pork.

“The U.S. pork industry thanks Sen. Klobuchar for her leadership and is grateful to her for sponsoring this much-needed study,” said R.C. Hunt, a pork producer from Wilson, N.C., and president of the National Pork Producers Council. “The increased presence of disease, along with increasing international travel and trade that move diseases around the world, have created an unprecedented risk to the U.S. pork industry. Producers need risk-management tools that can protect them should our export markets close. We applaud Senator’s Klobuchar and Grassley for supporting our industry and helping to ensure our jobs are not jeopardized.”

The U.S. pork industry in 2011 exported more than $6 billion of product, which accounted for about 27 percent of total production and supported more than 50,000 jobs. But with that success comes additional risk, according to NPPC. Indeed, U.S. pork exports fell in 2009 after 16 years of record exports because of an outbreak in humans of the H1N1 flu virus that was misnamed “swine flu.”

“We need a program that will protect producers from another H1N1 situation,” Hunt said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture already has a pilot insurance program for hog producers called Livestock Gross Margin (LGM), but it has a $3 million limit on spending that restricts the number of pigs that any one producer can insure. Additionally, the program now is available only for a six-month period.

The Klobuchar amendment would require USDA to study how a catastrophic event insurance program for pork would be structured.



Senate Agriculture Committee Approves Dairy Policy Reforms in Farm Bill

The Senate Agriculture Committee today approved a farm bill draft that contains critically-needed improvements in dairy programs, according to the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF). The bill passed by a vote of 16 to 5, and now will proceed to the full Senate for consideration.

The Senate legislation includes a new, voluntary margin protection program, endorsed by NMPF, to better safeguard farmers against disastrously low margins, such as those generated by the low milk prices and high feed costs that cost dairy farmers $20 billion in net worth between 2007 and 2009.

"The Senate has taken a huge step in the right direction by including the dairy reforms modeled after NMPF's Foundation for the Future program," said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF.  "We commend Senators Stabenow and Roberts for their leadership and diligence in shepherding the farm bill past this point."

Kozak said the dairy title contains a better safety net for farmers in the form of the Dairy Production Margin Protection Program, which offers them a basic level of coverage against low margins, as well as a supplemental insurance plan offering higher levels of protection jointly funded by government and farmers. Those who opt to enroll in the margin program will also be subject to the Market Stabilization program that asks them to reduce milk output when margins are poor.

The Committee approved two amendments to the dairy title of the farm bill:  one, offered by Sens. Johanns (R-NE) and Casey (D-PA), that authorizes a review of the Market Stabilization program at the end of the five-year farm bill lifespan; and a second, offered by Sen. Gillibrand (D-NY), that extends the MILC program through June 2013, at a reduced rate, so there is a safety net in place while the USDA implements the new dairy margin insurance program. The bill was not amended in any way that diminishes the value of the margin protection or market stabilization elements, according to Kozak.

"We're very appreciative that members of the Agriculture Committee have preserved the carefully-crafted economic and political compromises that went into the creation of Foundation for the Future. We look forward to working with the full Senate as it considers this legislation later this spring," Kozak said.