Long, Hot Summer Shows Need for Improvements to Farm Bill, NCGA Says (8-21-07)

The latest crop condition reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show the majority of the nation’s corn crop in good to excellent condition. However, some areas of the mid-South and Midwest have been hurt by extreme conditions, notes the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). That’s why NCGA and other groups such as the American Farmland Trust are supporting the proposed Farm Safety Net Improvement Act introduced by Sens. Dick Durbin and Sherrod Brown.

“Under our current farm program producers are paid based on price only,” explains newly elected NCGA First Vice President Bob Dickey. “When a drought year hits like we have in certain areas, you don’t get a payment. And we don’t get paid when we need it the most. If we go to a revenue-based safety net like the Durbin-Brown bill, it would pay out based on price and yield giving farmers payments we can count on.”

NCGA believes the Farm Safety Net Improvement Act is a better income safety net for farmers than the current patchwork of farm programs and ad hoc disaster relief. With its market-oriented revenue countercyclical payment, the bill would reduce the incentive to overproduce and help reduce production distortions. Target prices and loan rates will adjust with the market, rather than being set by the political process. All of the benefits, notes Dickey, come at no additional cost to taxpayers.

“We are aware the budget situation is tight in Washington, D.C., but the Durbin-Brown bill doesn’t cost more money than the current countercyclical payments that don’t work for farmers,” he explains. “That’s why we certainly encourage all producers to get in touch with their senator. Ask them to support the Durbin Brown Bill.”

For more information about the Farm Safety Net Improvement Act click here.