Farm Bill Digest #9, Posted October 29, 2007

The Farm Bill Digest tracks developments around the National Campaign's Farm Bill Priorities. You can read the full set of our priorities through this link.

Recent Farm Bill alerts are posted here.

Payment Limitation Organizational Sign-on letter to the Senate is posted here [Word Doc] (Deadline is Wednesday at Noon EST)

Competition Organizational Sign-on letter to the Senate is posted here [Word Doc] (Deadline is Tuesday at noon, EST.)

In this issue of the Digest:

Farm Bill Moves to the Senate Floor

The full Senate is expected to debate and vote on the 2008 Farm Bill the week of November 5th.

Senate Agriculture Committee Completed Markup

Summaries of Senate Agriculture Committee action and expected floor amendments for Payment Limitation Reform, Conservation, the Livestock Title and Renewable Energy.

FARM BILL DIGEST #9

October 29, 2007

Farm Bill Moves to the Senate Floor

The full Senate is expected to debate and vote on the 2008 Farm Bill the week of November 5th. Many amendments to the Bill are expected to be offered on the Senate Floor that could either strengthen or weaken the gains made for sustainable agriculture in the Senate Agriculture Committee. For some of our priorities the Senate Floor is our last chance for meaningful Farm Bill reform. Amendments regarding Payment Limitations, Captive Supply Reform, Renewable Energy and ways for both organizations and individuals to influence the debate are summarized below.

Senate Agriculture Committee Completes Markup

The Senate Agriculture Committee completed its mark up of the 2008 Farm Bill on October 25th.

Conservation

Thanks to the unflagging support of Senator Harkin the Conservation Security Program emerged from committee fit as a fiddle and with a new name: The Conservation Stewardship Program. As part of the Comprehensive Stewardship Incentives Program for working lands conservation the bill offers the new CSP on a nationwide basis and a mandatory sign up of at least 13 million acres a year; nearly 80,000 acres over the life of the Farm bill. The bill also provides an easy crosswalk for organic farmers allowing them to simultaneously establish eligibility for the CSP and organic certification.

The biggest disappointment by far in the Conservation Title came in the form of an amendment offered by Senators Leahy (D-VT), Crapo (R-ID) and Roberts (R-KS) to increase the EQIP payment limitation in Harkin's mark from $240,000 over five years to $450,000. Chairman Harkin and Senator Conrad argued forcefully for reasonable payment limitations to reduce the current backlog of EQIP applications and to allow greater participation by small and moderate sized farmers. The amendment passed, however, 13 to 8. Voting NO and deserving of our thanks are Senators Harkin (D-IA), Brown (D-OH), Casey (D-PA), Klobuchar (D-MN), Baucus (D-MT), Stabenow (D-MI) Conrad (D-ND) and Grassley (R-IA).

Payment Limitations

The Senate adopted the same kind of weak payment limitation reforms that the House passed in its bill. An amendment offered by Senator's Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) will put a hard cap of $250,000 on commodity payments, close loopholes and shift the savings to rural development, beginning and minority farmers, conservation, nutrition and anti- hunger programs. The vote is expected to be very close. Call your Senator's this week and urge them to support the Dorgan-Grassley amendment. The Center for Rural Affairs is circulating an organizational sign-on letter in support of the amendments. A copy of the letter is posted here [Word Doc] To sign on contact Traci Bruckner at the Center . The deadline is Wednesday at noon. Organizations from Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Kentucky are especially needed.

Livestock Title

The Livestock Title was a big winner in the Farm Bill that emerged from committee. An en bloc amendment offered by Chairman Harkin and adopted by the Committee includes a ban on packer feeding. The Chairman's mark included a strong Livestock Title that emerged whole and unscathed by any amendments from other Committee members. The mark included a strong voluntary arbitration provision and these other contract fairness protections:

• Giving the producer at least three days to review or cancel a contract.
• Prohibiting companies from requiring the producer to make additional investments without offering additional compensation or other consideration to the farmer.
• Requiring 90-day notice for contract termination when the producer has made a capital investment of $100,000 in facilities or equipment in reliance on the contract.
• Giving packers and stockyards more administrative authority over all livestock including poultry.
• Making it unlawful for companies not to bargain in good faith or to discriminate against or coerce farmers who form or join producer associations.
• Protecting a farmer's right to discuss the contract with business associates, neighbors and other producers.

The bill also creates a Special Counsel for Agricultural Competition to investigate and prosecute violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act. It also directs the Secretary to promulgate rules defining "undue preference" to prohibit any pricing preference or advantage based on volume of business unless they reflect actual and verifiably lower costs.

The bill also includes a Country of Origin Labeling provision requiring retailers to provide country of origin labeling for beef, lamb, pork, and goat meat. The provisions prohibiting the use of a mandatory National Animal Identification System to establish country of origin is retained in existing law.

The bill that passed out of committee also included a provision allowing the interstate shipment of meat inspected in certain small state inspected facilities. Eligible establishments must employ on average, fewer than 25 employees. The language carefully exempts existing federal facilities to deny federal facilities the option of choosing state inspection, removing a major objection of food safety advocates.

There are likely to be amendments to strike some of these wins offered on the Senate Floor. Other amendments will be offered to include the Captive Supply Reform Act in the Farm Bill and a provision clarifying a farmer's burden of proof in establishing anti-competitive injury. The National Campaign's Competition Committee and the Campaign for Contract Agriculture Reform (CCAR) are circulating an organizational sign-on letter to influence the floor votes. A copy of the letter is found at this link [Word Doc]

THE DEADLINE FOR SIGN ON IS TUESDAY OCTOBER 30 AT NOON EST. To sign on, email Sheilah Davidson at Livestock Title Alerts will also be posted on the National Campaign website.

Renewable Energy

After months of work and input from National Campaign partners, the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and others, the Bioenergy Crop Transition Assistance Program that emerged in the Chairman's mark was virtually unrecognizable from earlier drafts. As first conceived, the BCTA was to spur the production of a variety of biomass energy crops with the highest benefit possible to wildlife, air, soil, and water quality. Producers within bioenergy cropsheds would be eligible for incentive payments for producing cellulosic crops other than Title I commodity crops. Producers could produce perennials or annuals if raised in a resource conserving crop rotation.

The BCTA passed out of committee, however, is a disaster. Gone are any conservation or research objectives for the program. Farmer's need only comply with their basic NRCS conservation plan on highly erodible or wetland acres . Any crop or material other than corn starch is eligible. Gone are cropshed areas; individual farmers scattered all over the county could apply. Also gone is the option for Conservation Security Program priority enrollment and enhancement payments for farmers who grow 3 or more native perennial bioenergy crop species. There are no longer any priorities for projects that include beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers or for projects that include opportunities for local ownership.

Senator Klobuchar (D-MN) and Senator Thune (R-MN) may offer an amendment on the Senate floor to restore some of the original purposes of the program. The National Campaign will issue alerts on this amendment as the details are firmed up. Use the Farm Bill Hero link above to sign up for our Farm Bill alerts. Alerts will also be posted on the website.

© 2007-2008 National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture.