Agricultural News
White House Issues Report on How to Strengthen Rural America
Tue, 27 Apr 2010 4:24:37 CDT
The Obama Administration has released a new report that is being called "Strengthening the Rural Economy." The report, in its executive summary, says "Rural areas are home to about 50 million Americans and are an essential part of the overall economy. This report surveys the current state of rural America and describes the Obama Administration's policies for strengthening the rural economy. Many of these policies are already being implemented through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. But further work remains to ensure the prosperity and vitality of rural America."
The report does acknowledge that "The U.S. agricultural sector remains more productive than those of other high-income countries and is highly competitive in international markets." However, it speaks of few people now employed in farming, with many of those getting much of their income from off farm jobs, so they emphasize rural development as being more important than traditional farm program supports.
The report does have one section that is dedicated to farm program issues. The three bullet points include the following priorities of the Administration:
* As part of the Administration's National Export Initiative, the President has called for further measures to open foreign markets to agricultural goods.
* The President's 2011 budget calls for a number of reforms to existing farm support programs, including tighter eligibility requirements to preclude the wealthiest farmers from receiving payments and changes to the crop insurance program to reduce windfall profits.
* Initiatives such as the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food program promote the development of local and regional food systems that deliver fresh food to consumers who live in close proximity to farms.
We have an audio overview of the report that has been prepared for us by colleague Stewart Doan- Click on the Listen Bar below to hear his report. Click here to jump to the Whitehouse web site to see the Executive Summary with links to each section of the Report.
This report comes as President Obama is prepared to jet into rural America and make stops in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. His schedule includes a stop at a "local farm" in Missouri for him to practice a little agritourism. Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas, top Republican on the House Ag Committee, issued the following statement regarding the CEA report as well as the rural travels of the President of the United States.
"I am glad to hear that President Obama will meet with farmers on his upcoming trip to Missouri. I hope he's prepared to really listen to their concerns. For more than a year, the agriculture community has been sounding the alarm on cap and trade, an overreaching EPA, government-run health care, and the administration's spending spree. I hope the President is prepared to discuss the real impact of his policies on family farms, small businesses, and rural America. I hope he's prepared to explain why he hasn't sent the three pro-agriculture free trade agreements to Congress, which would mean real money for rural economies."
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