More in Legislation

Chairman Frank Lucas of Oklahoma and Ranking Member Collin Peterson of Minnesota released a discussion draft of the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM) today. FARRM is a bipartisan bill that saves taxpayers billions, reduces the nation's deficit and repeals outdated policies while reforming, streamlining and consolidating others. It is the product of a two-year process that examined every single policy under the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Agriculture. The legislation cuts spending, reduces the size of government and makes common-sense reforms to agricultural policy....More

About all Farm Bill watchers used the same language in describing the Senate’s approval of its Farm Bill proposal, “Major change is coming to agriculture.”  With a bi-partisan vote, Senators approved the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act.  Now the spotlight turns to the House, which is planning to vote early next month on its proposal.  Expected to be significantly different from the Senate version, some House and Senate Ag Committee members will spend part of their summer in a conference committee to work out the differences....More

Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) is a revenue-based proposed Farm Bill program passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee. In this post, net returns for corn are examined using prices and ARC payments detailed in a May 9, 2012 post. At $4/bu. and below corn prices, ARC will make payments, aiding in cushioning revenue losses. However, ARC payments are not large enough is assure profits, as farmers who cash rent will face losses at prices below $4/bu....More

In the recent Senate Agriculture Committee action that resulted in the approval of a new farm bill proposal and referral to the full Senate for a floor vote, there were essentially no recorded comments about the cost of the five-year legislation. That is rather remarkable. Hundreds of billions of dollars are being spent, and no one talks about the entire cost of the legislation....More

Throughout summer and fall 2011, changes to farm programs hinged on the highly anticipated outcome of the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction. Commodity organizations and other advocacy groups worked to create a range of proposals for program modifications that would 1) generate contributions to deficit reduction, and 2) continue to provide a strong safety net for agriculture. While the many proposals varied, some general themes did emerge....More

  Changes in agricultural policy are often more evolutionary than revolutionary. The philosophical changes underlying the debate on the next farm bill are an important step in that evolution, says Carl Zulauf, a professor of ag economics at Ohio State University....More

The American Soybean Association (ASA), National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and National Farmers Union (NFU) have called on the Congressional Agriculture Committees to consider moving to a revenue-based farm program when they make further recommendations to the Joint Select Committee on Budget Reduction by Nov. 1....More

The American Soybean Association today released its proposal for the 2012 Farm Bill, Risk Management for America’s Farmers. "This proposal will help farmers manage the risks they face from adverse weather, crop disease and volatile commodity markets," says ASA President Alan Kemper, a soybean producer from Lafayette, IN....More

The National Corn Growers Association expressed severe disappointment today that the Senate allowed petty politics to trump prudent policy in the fight for the future of the ethanol industry. The passage of Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s amendment to immediately repeal the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit represents a tax increase on fuel that will kill jobs in rural America and hit all consumers in the pocketbook, NCGA says....More