April 28, 2010
www.gfb.org
Vol. 28 No. 17
HOUSE AG COMMITTEE HOLDS FIRST HEARING ON 2012 FARM BILL With the 2008 farm bill scheduled to expire on September 2012, the House Agriculture Committee opened its deliberations on replacement legislation last week with a hearing to discuss U.S. agriculture policy, the first formal hearing in the process to produce the new farm bill. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke at the hearing and the committee was scheduled to hear more testimony from academics and economists this week. House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), acknowledging that financial resources for the 2012 farm bill to be more difficult to access than they were for the 2008 version, the Food, Conservation and Energy Act. Some programs under the 2008 farm bill appear headed for change in the 2012 version. The most prominent may be the cotton payments program, which the Obama administration agreed to change in order to avert retaliatory tariffs from Brazil. In an ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and Brazil, the World Trade Organization ruled the U.S. cotton program had adverse affects on Brazilian producers and authorized the South American country to levy tariffs on a wide selection of imported products from the U.S. Brazil agreed in March to hold off on imposing tariffs in exchange for changes to the cotton program and trade assistance from the U.S. to Brazilian producers. House Ag Committee members have also suggested a review of how the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program is administered. Both Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Committee Member Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.) have said the ACRE requirements of statewide revenue losses have lowered the odds of farmers collecting payments. They suggested using countywide revenue losses as the standard in order to make the program more accessible. In his speech, Vilsack said it is important to continue to provide a safety net for agricultural producers, but he fielded criticism from Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), who pointed out the Obama administration’s proposed budget, which included cuts to direct payments, crop insurance and conservation programs. Lucas wondered if those proposals were a precursor to the administration’s stance on farm bill spending. Lucas told Vilsack he was concerned the administration believes providing highspeed Internet to rural areas and other nonfarm issues were more important than issues on the farm. The committee is developing proposals which Peterson will pitch over the next two months. Formal hearings on the 2012 farm bill will begin late next year.