Des Moines Register
07-20-07
Corn, soybean, tobacco growers come out ahead in farm bill draft
New legislation approved by the House Agriculture Committee keeps the existing
subsidy system largely intact.
Lawmakers used budget tricks and spending cuts to increase subsidy rates for
many crops and expand conservation programs.
Some of the winners and losers.
By PHILIP BRASHER
REGISTER WASHINGTON BUREAU
Washington, D.C. - Early farm bill winners:
Hunters.
Consumers looking for more U.S.-grown organic foods.
Brewers and barley growers.
Schools that want to serve healthier snacks.
Tobacco growers.
Some unconventional players in farm policy emerged on top as the House
Agriculture Committee approved its version of the farm bill Thursday. But farmers
fared well, too.
The bill largely keeps the existing farm subsidy system enacted in 2002 largely
intact. But lawmakers used some budget tricks to expand several conservation
programs, including those that promote wildlife habitat, and targeted cuts to
increase subsidies for many crops, including malt barley.
Iowa corn and soybean farmers who were worried that their fixed annual
payments might be cut are winners, too. Those payments, which total about $500
million a year in Iowa, are about the only type of crop subsidies that farmers are
expected to get for the foreseeable future because of the sharp increases in corn
and soybean prices brought on by the surge in demand for biofuels.
Although there was talk early on of cutting the fixed payments to fund other
programs, the payments are left intact in the legislation.
As a result, the bill will have little effect on Iowa agriculture, said Bruce
Babcock, director of Iowa State University's Center for Agricultural and
Rural Development.
"Iowa agriculture's fortunes are determined more now by biofuels policy than
commodity policy," he said.
A look at some of the winners and losers in the bill:
Hunters, fishers, wildlife enthusiasts
The chairman of the committee, Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., is an avid hunter,
and the bill shows it.
The legislation creates an "open fields" grant program to help states pay
landowners to open their land to hunting and fishing. "Sportsmen win because it
... gives them places to go," said Dave Nomsen of Pheasants Forever, an
advocacy group.
The Wetlands Reserve Program, which pays for restoring and maintaining
sloughs, prairie potholes and other wetlands, was expanded from 2.3 million to
3.6 million acres. The program is popular with people seeking to hunt ducks and
other wildlife.
Wildlife groups fought off pressure to shrink the Conservation Reserve Program,
which pays farmers to retire environmentally sensitive land. Under the bill, the
enrollment cap remains at 39.2 million acres.
More than 36 acres are currently enrolled nationwide, including 2 million in Iowa.
Organic food
The bill attempts to increase availability of organic foods.
It authorizes up to $10,000 per farm in cost-share payments per year to help
farms convert to organic agriculture. Transitioning to organic can be a costly
process because farms can't get the higher prices for organic commodities until
they've been following organic practices for at least three years.
The bill also has additional money for organic research and certification and it
requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture to start collecting data on organic
commodities.
School snacks
More schools will get to participate in a program that provides free fruits and
vegetables as snacks. At least 35 schools in every state will be eligible for the
program. The program is now limited to 25 schools in Iowa and each of 13 other
states. Advocates of the program say it's needed to address the nation's obesity
problem. It's also a top priority with fruit and vegetable growers, who don't benefit
from traditional crop subsidies.
Tobacco growers
The bill benefits some not-so-healthy crops, too.
U.S. tobacco would qualify for a program that pays for promoting overseas sales
of American commodities, under a provision added to the bill by a North Carolina
lawmaker.
The provision is certain to be attacked by critics of the tobacco industry. But the
measure has the enthusiastic support of Peterson, who is a smoker.
"In my opinion we just have too much telling people what they should be doing,"
the committee chairman said.
Brewers
The bill creates a special subsidy for malting barley to encourage more farmers
to grow the crop. Farmers would be guaranteed a price of $2.50 per bushel, 65
cents more than the current subsidy rate for conventional barley.
At today's strong market prices - barley is selling in North Dakota for about $3.60
a bushel - the higher subsidy rate isn't needed, but it would encourage farmers to
keep growing the crop when prices fall.
Conservation Security Program
One of the biggest losers in the House farm bill is the Conservation Security
Program, enacted in 2002 to reward farmers for practices that prevent pollution
and improve wildlife habitat. The program has been hurt by budget cuts, and the
House bill would block new enrollments in the program until 2012.
The House won't have the last word on the program, however. The program's
author, Iowa Democrat Tom Harkin, is chairman of the Senate Agriculture
Committee. He has not yet released a draft bill.
Biodiesel producers
The bill revives a special subsidy program that will help biodiesel plants cope
with the rising price of soybeans and soybean oil. Conventional corn ethanol
producers would no longer be eligible for the subsidies.
Wealthy landowners
People who make more than $1 million a year, or as little as $500,000 if they
don't get most of their income from agriculture, would be cut off from farm
subsidies and conservation payments. Under current law, the limit is $2.5 million.
Reporter Philip Brasher can be reached at (202) 906-8138 or
pbrasher@dmreg.com