HOW FARMLAND IS assessed in Illinois was the subject of a House Revenue and Finance Committee h e a r i n g l a s t we e k i n S p r i n g field. .......................................3
A NEW REVOLUTION may be coming in Cuba as a number of factors are falling into place that could result in a thaw in strained U.S.-Cuba relations. ........................4
I L L I N O I S WO O D L A N D owners sold timber valued at $16.66 million in 2010, but they are underselling their timber, according to an Extension forestry specialist. ...........8
The sequestration matrix: Cost cutting impact hard to pinpoint Monday, March 11, 2013
BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek
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Farmers, federal officials, and lawmakers continue to feel their way through the developing “matrix” of the federal budget sequestration process. Most immediately, a 5 percent across-the-board cut is expected to have widespread — if as yet uncertain — impacts for near-term ag spending. According to American Farm Bureau Federation policy director Dale Moore, USDA is expected to trim some $1.95 billion in spending over the remainder of the current 2013 fiscal year. That includes a potential $531 million cut in Farm Service Agency funding, and Moore suggests current-year direct payments may be reduced. However, he said he didn’t expect sequestration itself to have a significant effect on longer-term farm bill debate. The greater impacts may lie in expiration of the current continuing budget resolution March 27, and revised Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections of proposed House-Senate farm bill savings. “It’s like a matrix: It’s hard to point to any one part of this process and say, ‘That’s going to have the effect,’” Moore told FarmWeek.
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The CBO recently arrived at an updated budget baseline for long-term ag spending. Based on revised estimates, it has downgraded projected savings pegged to Senate or 2012 House Ag Committee farm bill proposals by roughly $10 billion. Originally, the Senate and House Ag Committees claimed respective farm bill savings of $23 billion and $35 billion. Proposed food stamp cuts accounted for nearly $12 billion of that gap. However, the Women, Infant, and Children nutrition program is slated for a $333 million sequestration hit (food stamp benefits are exempt), and the CBO has pared back on its food stamp baseline. As a result, “you kind of
have to take the nutrition programs out of the equation,” Moore said. Ag committees thus may have to look to commodity, conservation, or, possibly, crop insurance operation funds for further savings, he said. A Washington USDA Risk Management Agency official warned Illinois Farm Bureau Leaders to Washington that day-to-day crop insurance operations could be affected if sequestration cuts continue into 2014. That could impact program implementation and development of new policies and protections, Moore said. First-time leader trip participant Rachel Meinhart from Effingham County perceived “a lot of support” for farmer-
favored policies and crop insurance among Illinois congressional delegates. Ag Committee staffers who met with the leaders argued vulnerable dairy producers would be covered through Sept. 30, when 2008 farm bill extended provisions expire, but they were reluctant to “over-speculate” on budget/sequestration impacts, she said. “I think everybody just wants the House to get its version (of the farm bill) out and the Senate to sit down and haggle out its bill,” DeWitt County leader participant Terry Ferguson said. “I think everybody’s just kind of walking around the edge of sequestration impacts.” Last week, the House passed a new continuing resolution
(CR) to cover federal spending through Sept. 30. The CR extends funding for most agencies at last year’s levels but incorporates sequestration cuts, lowering total funding from $1.043 trillion to $982 billion while adding $570 million for the USDA Forest Service and the Interior Department to address summer wildfires. The Senate is expected to take up short-term budget proposals this week. Beyond food stamp and Conservation Reserve Program spending, Moore stressed “everything at USDA is on the table” under sequestration. However, USDA has had some discretion in determining how to distribute sequestration cuts, he said. See Sequestration, page 3
Quinn blames pension woes for budget cuts
IDOA funding held steady BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek
Gov. Pat Quinn again challenged lawmakers to reform the state’s underfunded pension system, blaming a $6 billion pension payment for his proposed cuts to education funding in his fiscal 2014 budget. “We all know that we must reform the Illinois public pension system. So, members of the General Assembly, what are you waiting for?” Quinn asked during his short budget speech Wednesday. He described his proposal as an honest, balanced budget. In the budget of $35.6 billion in general revenue, the governor recommends cutting general state aid for K-12 education by $150 million, according to the governor’s staff. He is proposing to reduce higher education funding by about $437 million. The line item that supports ag education was proposed to stay at FY 2013
levels of $1.8 million. While cutting some education funding, Quinn stressed he is protecting funding for early childhood education and Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants for needy college students. The governor’s proposed cuts to education drew the sharpest criticism from legisla-
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To check out how the state’s proposed FY 2014 budget will impact agriculture, go to FarmWeekNow.com.
tors in both parties from both chambers. “There are other ways to cut other than education,” said Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago). Sen. David Luechtefeld (ROkawville) scoffed at the idea that Quinn had proposed a balanced budget: “We’re not close.” As for the proposed education cuts, the governor “may be wanting to pressure legislators to get something See Budget, page 2
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In his budget message, Gov. Pat Quinn focused on the growing share of general revenue funds going toward state employee pensions. The anticipated $6 billion payment in fiscal year 2014 will consume 19 percent of general revenue compared to 6 percent in fiscal year 2008, according to the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget.
Illinois Farm Bureau®on the web: www.ilfb.org