Delta Farm Press, NE
07-25-07
Has time come for revenue counter-cyclical program?
By Forrest Laws
Farm Press Editorial Staff
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The only congressional body to write language for the new farm bill voted to
extend the 2002 law for five years. But policy experts and lobbyists aren’t giving
up on changing the legislation.
A group of widely respected agricultural economists, farm leaders and former
USDA officials wrote the chairmen of the House and Senate agriculture
committees urging them to include a revenue counter-cyclical program in the new
farm bill.
They say revenue-based counter-cyclical programs would provide assistance to
farmers when prices or yield are low. Observers from Agriculture Secretary Mike
Johanns to National Corn Growers President Ken McCaulay believe the current
price-based CCP doesn’t help when yields are low.
The House General Farm Commodities Subcommittee rejected revenue-based
CCP and other “reform” ideas when it voted to extend the commodity title of the
current law. The full ag committee was expected to take up that language June
17-19 and the full House to vote on it July 26.
The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry hasn’t held public
votes on the farm bill, though Chairman Tom Harkin says the committee expects
to complete a bill and send it the Senate floor, to conference and to the president
before the 2002 law expires Sept. 30.
Revenue counter-cyclical proponents think they still have a chance for their
proposal either in the full House committee, the House floor or in the Senate ag
committee.
“Existing programs are complex, often failing to provide protection when needed
most, as evidenced by the need for disaster assistance,” said the authors, who
include ag economists Bruce Babcock, Iowa State University, Kansas State
University’s Barry Flinchbaugh, and Ohio State University’s Carl Zulauf.
“A revenue protection program would repair the holes in the current safety net
and provide better protection by targeting revenue (price times yield) rather than
price. A revenue protection program can be designed to treat all program crops
equitably, be more market-orientated and improve long-term international
competitiveness.”
(Other authors: former National Corn Grower Presidents Varel Bailey, Lee Klein
and Fred Yoder; Wheat Growers President Bill Flory; and former Agriculture
Secretary Clayton Yeutter and Deputy Secretary Richard Rominger.)
Other farm bill ideas are expected to show up. Rep. Ron Kind’s Food and
Agriculture Risk Management Act almost certainly will be introduced when the
new farm bill reaches the House floor.
Proponents of other legislation hope their ideas will make it into Harkin’s farm bill
when it gets introduced. Among those: reducing direct payments and lowering
payment limits and transferring the savings to conservation and energy
programs.
Farm organizations such as Plains Cotton Growers have been busy scheduling
flights to Washington to weigh in on the farm bill. The American Cotton
Producers and the Cotton Foundation took the unusual step of postponing their
Aug. 1-2 meeting for two weeks because of the House votes.
With the cost of hotel rooms and airfares these days, you can see how serious
those members are taking this debate.