Article
published Mar 29, 2007 in the Newark Advocate
Corn group submits farm bill plan to House subcommittee
WASHINGTON -- The American Corn Growers Association on
Wednesday asked Congress to rethink
"We need farm policy that provides a price to farm families rather than subsidies, an adequate strategic reserve of storable food and feed commodities and a way to curb overproduction of crops traditionally in surplus so that we can plant new dedicated energy producing crops to help the nation move toward energy independence," said Larry Mitchell, chief executive of ACGA as he testified before Chairman Bob Etheridge, D-N.C., Ranking Member Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and members of the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management of the House Committee on Agriculture.
"Most, if not all members of this subcommittee have publicly stated on many occasions that the new farm bill will be drafted by the agriculture committees of the U.S. Congress and not at the World Trade Organization," said Mitchell. "We do not challenge you to do so, because we know you will do so. We are here to help you, and once we have done so, then let's take this plan to the WTO because this plan does exactly what has been advocated by the WTO -- it eliminates subsidies, addresses the issue of overproduction and helps establish better prices for farmers around the world."
Mitchell urged consideration of the plan, titled the Food from Family Farms Act, which has been co-written and endorsed by the National Family Farm Coalition and 60 other organizations. The plan calls for the:
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Reestablishment of a
loan program to provide a floor price for the major, strategic commodities and
relieve the burden of tens of billions of dollars in subsidies from taxpayers.
§
Establishment of a
strategic national grain reserve, including the reestablishment of the Farmer
Owned Reserve for Domestic Food Security.
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Domestic energy security, and international famine relief.
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Reauthorization of the
secretary's authority to manage over-production and price-depressing surpluses
by providing incentives to plant dedicated energy crops on acres which are now,
or may be, produced in surplus.
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Retention and expansion
of the Conservation Reserve Program.
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Full funding and
deployment of the Conservation Security Program.
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Expansion of the Energy
Title of the farm bill.
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Establishment of a
standing disaster program.
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Development of a Cellulosic Reserve Program.
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Extension of the Milk
Income Loss Contract.
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Inclusion of a
competition title similar to Sen. Tom Harkin's Agricultural Fair Practices Act.
§
Implementation of the
current Country of Origin Labeling provision of the 2002 farm bill.
§
Improved delivery and
funding of programs targeted toward limited resource and socially disadvantaged
farmers and ranchers.