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NCGA COMMENDS SENATE'S QUICK PASSAGE OF FARM BILL
May
8, 2002
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Kristin Young, NCGA, 202-628-7001
Sam Willett, NCGA, 202-628-7001
(WASHINGTON) May 8, 2002 -- After two days of debate, the U.S. Senate
approved the farm bill, 64 to 35, Wednesday afternoon. The bill, which
will boost commodity program support and will raise conservation spending
by 80 percent, now goes to the president's desk for his already promised
signature.
National Corn Growers
Association (NCGA) President Tim Hume, a corn grower from Walsh, Colo.,
said, "With spring planting under way and the Freedom to Farm Act expiring
in September, quick passage of the farm bill was critical. NCGA thanks
members of the Senate for their prompt action in giving farmers an economic
safety net for this crop year."
Once enacted, the
legislation will:
- Increase direct
payments for corn to 28 cents per bushel over the next six years.
- Include a new
target-priced based countercyclical payment program, which will reduce
U.S. agriculture's dependence on emergency assistance packages. NCGA
has promoted the countercyclical payment program as essential to protecting
farm income at times of depressed prices and adverse crop production.
- Increase conservation
program spending to a projected $13.2 billion over the next 10 years.
- Increase the
marketing loan rate for corn five percent to $1.98 per bushel, the
first increase since the mid-1990s. After two years, the loan rate
will be adjusted downward to $1.95 per bushel. At the same time, the
target price for corn in the countercyclical program will rise from
$2.60 per bushel to $2.63 per bushel.
The new bill, according
to a recent analysis by the Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute,
projects an increase in annual net farm income by an average of $3.8
billion. Conservation programs will contribute an estimated $0.7 billion
per year. Once the president signs the legislation into law, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture will turn to the difficult task of implementing
the new policies and programs over the next few months.
For more information
regarding the farm bill, please visit NCGA's website at www.ncga.com.
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The National Corn
Growers Association mission is to create and increase opportunities
for corn growers in a changing world and to enhance corn's profitability
and usage. NCGA represents more than 32,000 members, 25 affiliated state
corn grower organizations and hundreds of thousands of growers who contribute
to state checkoff programs.
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