FARM BILL DIGEST #11, February 12, 2008
The Farm Bill Digest tracks developments around the National Campaign's Farm Bill Priorities. You can read the full set of our priorities at: http://www.sustainableagriculture.net/farm_bill_priorities.php
Recent Farm Bill alerts are posted here: http://www.sustainableagriculture.net/action.php
In this issue of the Digest:
Farm Bill Conference Underway
While moving slower than anticipated, the process of ironing out differences between the Senate and House Farm Bills has at least left the gate.
Key NCSA Farm Bill Priorities in Conference
Many of our 2008 Farm Bill priorities have only one leg to stand on. They are included in either the House or the Senate Farm Bill—but not both—and are therefore at risk of being struck in conference.
Payment Limits Redux
The President’s veto threat and demand for tighter adjusted gross income limits for farm program participants has brought the issue of payment limitations back to the table.
FARM BILL DIGEST
February 12, 2008
Farm Bill Conference Underway
While moving slower than anticipated, the process of ironing out differences between the Senate and House Farm Bills has at least left the gate. A conference committee will ultimately report back one compromise Farm Bill for passage in both the House and Senate. If passed, that bill will then be presented to the President for his signature. Conference negotiations have been primarily proceeding at the Agriculture Committee staff level as they work through side by side comparisons of each title. A side by side analysis for each title has been posted on the House Agriculture Committee website here: http://agriculture.house.gov/inside/FarmBill.html Staff will try to reach agreement on as many issues as possible before the negotiations move on to the Member level.
The Senate has named its Conference Committee members. The House has yet to do so, but it’s expected that the House conferees will include the Committee and Subcommittee Chairs. (See list of Senate and potential House conferees at the end of this Digest.) The Conferees will have to scramble to complete their work before the current Farm Bill, as extended, expires on March 15th. The stakes are high, because if they opt for a second extension they will have to craft a 2008 Farm Bill under a new (and lower) set of budget baseline figures.
House Agriculture Committee Chair Colin Peterson indicated late last week that the House Conferees would likely be named this week and that he would unveil his own compromise proposal for the 2008 Farm Bill. Other than noting that the Senate had not yet agreed to his proposal and that he thought the Administration would sign it, he provided no other details.
Negotiations at the Member level are likely to include some very difficult decisions over funding. President Bush has threatened to veto any Farm Bill that includes a tax increase or is without tighter limits on adjusted gross income for the recipients of farm program payments. Bush’s veto threat has brought the issue of payment limitations back to the table. It also threatens funding for many of the programs the sustainable agriculture community cares most about.
The tax veto threat is aimed principally at the $14 billion in tax revenue raisers for the Farm Bill provided by the House Ways and Means Committee, and $8 billion raised by the Senate Finance Committee. Without this new revenue our hopes for an adequately funded Conservation Security Program, Value Added Producer Grants program, beginning farmer programs, programs to encourage the production of cellulosic biomass, organic research and extension and rural microenterprise are all in jeopardy.
The veto threat has some Democratic leaders threatening to allow the Farm Bill to simply revert to its 1949 permanent authorizing legislation. The Des Moines Register pointed out that such a move would reinstate a $250,000 hard cap on the receipt of farm program payments and a milk price support of $28 cwt. They also noted that back in the good old days there were no direct or countercyclical payments.
Key NCSA Farm Bill Priorities in Conference
Many of our 2008 Farm Bill priorities have only one leg to stand on. They are included in either the House or the Senate Farm Bill – but not both – and are therefore at risk of being struck in conference. What follows is the list of those at-risk priorities that we’ll be fighting to keep in the Farm Bill that goes to the President.
Conservation Security Program
The Conservation Security Program fares much better in the Senate version of the Farm Bill than the House version. The Senate would add $2 Billion in new money to this financially beleaguered program while the House would actually cut $4.8 billion over 10 years and essentially mothball the CSP until 2012. The Senate Farm Bill would add 79.6 million acres to the program over 6 years under a continuous sign up. The Senate has also streamlined and simplified the program and provided an easy crosswalk from organic certification to CSP eligibility.
The Livestock Title
With the exception of a provision mandating country of origin labeling for meat products, the House Farm Bill provides next to nothing for independent livestock producers. The Senate, on the other hand, contains a very strong Livestock Title that would begin to restore healthy and competitive livestock markets. A voluntary arbitration provision will allow producers to choose whether or not they want to submit to arbitration. A provision prohibiting packer ownership and feeding of livestock would prevent packers from using their own “captive supplies” to exert unfair market power over farmers. The Senate Livestock Title also sets minimum standards of notice and fairness for contracts between producers and packers.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Peterson (D-IA) indicated last week that he would try to substitute for the packer ban, a provision to establish an academic commission to study the issue and prepare a report.
Organic Agriculture
Both the House and the Senate Farm Bills include mandatory funding of $22 million for organic certification cost share. The Senate Farm Bill establishes a new program to provide incentive and cost share payments to producers transitioning to organic. The program is housed within the Environmental Quality Incentive Program and will be available to producers on a nationwide basis. The House Bill would create a stand alone organic conversion program dependent upon annual appropriations for funding. The Senate Bill also provides $16 million in annual mandatory funding for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative, while the House only provides $5 million in mandatory funding.
Beginning Farmers
Both the House and the Senate reauthorize the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program but only the House provides mandatory funding, and at a level of $15 million annually. The House Bill also includes $16 million over 5 years for a CRP transition option offering up to 2 years of additional CRP payments for landowners who sell or lease to qualified beginning farmers. The Senate authorizes a new program to administer individual development accounts for beginning farmers. The matched savings accounts could be used for farm asset purchases. The House has no such provision.
Interstate Sales of State Inspected Meat
Both the House and the Senate include provisions allowing the interstate sale of state inspected meat. The Senate version, however, addresses food safety concerns by providing federal oversight of state plants along with outreach, cost share and training. Eligibility is limited to plants with 25 or fewer employees.
Value Added Producer Grants
Only the House Farm Bill provides mandatory funding at a level of $30 million annually for this program that provides planning and capital grants to farmers undertaking value added on farm enterprises.
Bioenergy Crop Transition Assistance Program
Both the House and the Senate Farm Bills include a program to encourage the production of cellulosic biomass and each has its respective strengths and weaknesses. The NCSA Renewable Energy Committee is working closely with the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition toward a program that includes strong sustainability criteria, a preference for perennials, and priorities for projects that support beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and that offer opportunities for local ownership of the biomass facility.
Payment Limits Redux
The President’s veto threat and demand for tighter adjusted gross income limits for farm program participants has brought the issue of payment limitations back to the table. Both the House and Senate Farm Bills provide only meager reforms and in some cases actually increase payment levels. Senators Dorgan (D-ND) and Grassley (R-IA) have sent a letter to Chairman Harkin asking him to include the Dorgan Grassley payment limitation amendment that received 56 yea votes on the Senate floor in December in the final farm bill that goes to the President. Such a move would generate a savings of $1 billion dollars.
A compromise payment limit proposal put forth by the Center for Rural Affairs is also gaining some traction. The proposal would include a strong definition of “actively engaged in farming”, make it harder for landlords to skirt adjusted gross income limits by switching from crop share to cash rent, provide a mechanism for reducing both direct payments and adjusted gross income limits as market prices go up, and a provision exempting the first 1,000 acres of a farm from these limits in a compromise nod to rice and cotton producers.
Senate Conferees
Democrats
Tom Harkin (IA) Chair
Patrick Leahy (VT)
Kent Conrad (ND)
Max Baucus (MT)
Blanche Lincoln (AR)
Debbie Stabenow (MI)
Republicans
Saxby Chambliss (GA)
Richard Lugar (IN)
Thad Cochran (MS)
Pat Roberts (KS)
Chuck Grassley (IA)
Likely House Conferees
Democrats
Colin Peterson (MN 7)
Tim Holden (PA 17)
Mike McIntyre (NC 7)
Bob Etheridge (NC 2)
Leonard Boswell (IA 3)
Joe Baca (CA 43)
Dennis Cardoza (CA 18)
Republicans
Bob Goodlatte (VA 6)
Frank Lucas (OK 3)
Jerry Moran (KS 1)
Robin Hayes (NC 8)
Jo Bonner (AL 1)
Marilyn Musgrave (CO 4)
Randy Neugebauer (TX 19)
© 2007-2008 National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture.