NCGA Chairman Tim Hume Attends Payment Limitations Commission Workshop
(6-19-03)
National Corn Growers Association
(NCGA) Corn Board Chairman Tim Hume was one of 12 participants Tuesday
to respond to expert testimony at a payment limitations public workshop
in Washington, D.C. Hume spoke to the commission in response to testimony
from a panel of farm policy experts expressing a wide range of views
on proposals for tighter payment limitations during the Commission
on the Application of Payment Limitations for Agriculture workshop.
Hume expressed NCGA's concerns
regarding calls to reopen the farm bill and the adoption of restrictive
payment limits.
"Without opportunities
for success in agriculture, young people will choose alternative careers,”
Hume told the commission. “Overly restrictive payment limitations
limit these opportunities and discourage young people from entering
production agriculture."
Hume also challenged the
commission to reevaluate the definitions frequently cited to describe
the type and size of family-owned commercial farm operations. He noted
that much has changed in agriculture requiring many producers to expand
in order to maintain profitability. Hume added that decreasing payment
limitations could discourage people from investing in farming.
At the conclusion of the
workshop, Commission Chairman Keith Collins announced that the commission
would further evaluate the public comments and data from studies and
prepare a report for Congress later this year.
The commission
was created by Congress under the 2002 farm bill to study the potential
impacts of further payment limitations on agriculture producers, rural
communities, agriculture industries and others.