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NCGA President Lee Klein presents testimony on NCGA's National Agriculture
Security Act (NASA) to the Senate Agriculture Committee. To his
left is NCGA Public Policy Action Team member Ron Litterer, who
also presented testimony on NCGA's behalf. |
For
Senate Agriculture Committee, NCGA Details its Vision of the Next Farm
Bill (7-12-01)
Battle Creek, Neb.,
farmer and National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Lee Klein
shared NCGA's vision of the next farm bill with the Senate Agriculture
Committee today in Washington, D.C.
Joined by Ron Litterer,
vice chair of NCGA's Public Policy Action team and a Greene, Iowa, farmer,
Klein detailed what corn producers expect from the next farm bill: "Simply,
our growers want a farm program that ensures America's farmers are globally
competitive, market responsive and environmentally responsible. This
program must provide producers with access to world markets, access
to capital, access to advances in technology and risk management in
a sustainable and environmentally sound manner."
The centerpiece
of NCGA's proposal is a counter-cyclical income support program, which
today's testimony covered in considerable detail. Klein outlined for
the committee what corn growers seek: "It is NCGA's goal to develop
new uses for corn; to develop and build a renewable products industry
with corn as the chief feedstock; to increase utilization of corn; and
to increase the opportunity for grower profits."
He added that the
next farm bill should provide producers with "opportunities in
the market place with minimal interference in production decisions and
that includes a safety net against those economic forces that are beyond
producers' control," adding, "We believe we have developed
a program that will do just that."
NCGA's National
Agriculture Security Act (NASA) addresses the inequities in the current
marketing assistance loan program, puts U.S. agricultural supports in
the more favorable green box and is fiduciarily appropriate and responsible.
Klein concluded:
"We believe we have identified very real problems with today's
farm policy and proposed a policy that we believe addresses them. We
also contend that this policy proposal is both less production- and
trade-distorting than current policy, and offers this country's farmers
a real safety net when it is needed most."
PDF
of testimony
Last
reviewed July 12, 2001
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