Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) described last Wednesday’s House Agriculture Committee Hearing on the Farm Bill as “two-and-a-half hours to kick off two-and-a-half years.”

The hearing was the first of Committee Chairman Collin Peterson’s (D-MN) meetings to get a head start on planning for the next Farm Bill, scheduled for completion in 2012.

Over the past few months, Rep. Peterson’s comments to the press have suggested that he is ready for change in all areas of the farm bill, but particularly to improvements in the structure of the farm safety net that dates from the Depression.  He has questioned the effects of direct payments on increasing land values, which may make it more difficult for beginning farmers to get started.  And on the issue of crop insurance, he has mentioned the possibility of whole-farm crop insurance policies tied to revenue rather than yield that could be more equitable for small and mid-sized diversified operations.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack testified at the hearing and focused his opening statement on two priorities:  creating more opportunities in rural America, and improving the farm safety net to bolster the number of  farmers able to participate in production agriculture.

Additional field hearings have now been added to the schedule:

AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE SCHEDULE

April 29, 2010

Friday, April 30th – 1:00 p.m. CDT
Iowa State Fair Grounds
Penningroth Sale Center
Des Moines, Iowa
Full Committee on Agriculture – Public Hearing
RE: To review U.S. agriculture policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill.

Saturday, May 1st – 1:00 p.m. MDT
Northwest Nazarene University
Old Science Lecture Hall
Nampa, ID
Full Committee on Agriculture – Public Hearing
RE: To review U.S. agriculture policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill.

Monday, May 3rd- 9:00 a.m. PDT
Fresno City Hall Council Chambers
2nd Floor
Fresno, CA
Full Committee on Agriculture – Public Hearing
RE: To review U.S. agriculture policy in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill.

Tuesday, May 4th- 8:00 a.m. MDT
Laramie County Community College
Center for Conferences and Institutes
Centennial Room 130
Cheyenne, WY

(NEW)
Friday, May 14th – 1:30 p.m. EDT
National Archives Southeast Region
Morrow, GA

(NEW)
Saturday, May 15th – 1:00 p.m. CDT
Cattlemen’s Park
Pike County Cattlemen’s Association
Troy, AL

(NEW)
Monday, May 17th – 9:00 a.m. CDT
Texas Tech Museum
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX

(NEW)
Tuesday, May 18th – 8:00 a.m. CDT
2nd Floor Theater
Edith Mortenson Center
Augustana College
Sioux Falls, SD