Agricultural News
Mary Kay Thatcher Says Many Bridges Must be Built Before Farm Bill Becomes Reality
Mon, 13 May 2013 18:07:37 CDT
As the Senate and House Agriculture Committees begin work this week on a 2013 farm bill, there is a whole universe of issues that must be ironed out before any bill can be successfully passed, reconciled and sent to the President.
In Washington, Mary Kay Thatcher, Senior Director of Congressional Relations with the American Farm Bureau Federation, spoke with Ron Hays about the complexity of the work that must be completed before a farm bill can become reality. She said not only are there differences in the principles driving the House and Senate versions of the bills, but also there are wide chasms to be bridged between commodity producers themselves. She said many producers want a shallow loss, moving revenue average on the one side and on the other side you've got farmers who would rather see a high target price that is fixed for five years with little red tape and maximum flexibility. She said that the opinions among Farm Bureau members vary widely as well.
"What our delegates said is 'We want an option to do both.' So what we're trying to do is to continue to work on ways where the options make sense; they sort of balance out. Really, in this case, you're not just looking at a shallow-loss revenue like ARC where it's a free program like the ACRE program or direct payments, but you also have, for cotton, the STAX program which is shallow loss but you pay a premium insurance subsidy for it. And then you've got the supplemental coverage option which looks a whole lot like STAX, but not quite as rich, but a whole lot like that. And then, target prices. So you really have four different kinds of options that come into play in differing ways and interact differently depending on whether you're talking about the Senate or the House bill."
Thatcher also said the crop insurance program is separate and must be taken into consideration as well.
"I think no matter what this farm bill looks like, in the end you're going to see a trend toward less typical commodity programs and more crop insurance. And I think that's a trend that's likely to continue."
Thatcher said there are detractors of most segments of the farm bill with a lot of fire being focused by some lawmakers on premium assistance for crop insurance. She said that it must be defended because farmers do "have skin in the game." They pay premiums fo that insurance. She said AFBF also signed off on conservation compliance linked to participation in crop insurance programs.
In the nutrition title, Thatcher said Congressional leaders and President Obama will more than likely need to get involved because the differences in what the Senate wants to save and what the House wants to cut are just so great.
You can listen to the whole interview by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.
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