NCGA Welcomes USDA’s Farm Bill Forum Comments (3-30-06)

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) welcomes the release this week of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Bill Forum Comment Summaries, which highlighted a broad array of opinions from producers and other stakeholders about what they need and want to see in future farm policy.

Steve Pigg, NCGA Public Policy Action Team chairman, noted these documents also represent the extensive effort and commitment Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns has in working with those farmers and producers whose livelihoods will be impacted in the upcoming farm bill.

“We are pleased to have seen Secretary Johanns and President George W. Bush’s administration engage producers from across the countryside in a true effort to find out what is important to them in the upcoming farm bill discussions,” said Pigg. “These comments represent a wide variety of opinions and thoughts on what the next farm bill should reflect. NCGA believes the next farm bill must be a complete package that provides farmers opportunities in the U.S. and international marketplaces and includes a safety net against those risks that are beyond producers’ control.”

Johanns and USDA officials spent most of 2005 holding open forums on the future of farm policy. The agency received more than 4,000 comments. In total, 52 forums were conducted in 48 states. Johanns hosted 21 of the forums, participating in 66 hours of listening. The public was able to submit comments through the USDA Web site, at the forums or through regular mail.

According to the USDA, the 41 summaries will serve as a basis for USDA policy review and analysis in preparation for the 2007 farm bill. Each topic includes three sections: factual background data about the topic; a summary of general opinions expressed; and a list of specific suggestions that were conveyed. These papers are strictly summaries of the opinions and suggestions of those who submitted public comment.

The next step will be for the USDA to perform an unbiased analysis of these summaries, which will be led by USDA Chief Economist Dr. Keith Collins. Each analysis paper will be posted on the USDA Web site when it is completed. Risk management, crop insurance, price and income support programs and ad hoc disaster assistance are among the topics that will be analyzed.

The summary papers are available on the USDA Web site at www.usda.gov.