More On The Farm Bill That Smells Like A Feedlot

Some good commentary on the "reform" Pelosi talks about in the new Farm Bill.

Investor's Business Daily
LA Times

This is certainly a sad state of affairs. By the way, I got a reply from Pat Robert on my letter this morning. Existing Senators are part of the problem...

Dear Mr. XXXXX:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the Farm Bill. I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts with me.

In December the Senate passed H.R. 2419, the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007, commonly known as the Farm Bill on a 79-14 vote. The Farm Bill is a multi-year bill that legislates policies and authorizes programs for commodity price support, food and nutrition aid, conservation initiatives, agriculture trade and marketing programs, rural development assistance and renewable energy programing.

I supported the Senate Farm Bill. While it is not the best possible bill, it was the best bill possible at the time. I am pleased that the bill preserves the two commodity title programs that help Kansas producers the most, crop insurance and direct payments. In times when Mother Nature stirs up trouble by way of a drought, freeze, flood, tornado or other natural disaster, crop insurance and direct payments are the only programs that provide stability. The Farm Bill as drafted retains the direct payment rate from the 2002 Farm Bill and the framework of the current crop insurance program.

The Senate version of the Farm Bill includes significant funding increases to multiple programs. Conservation programs enjoy a $4 billion increase while nutrition programs see an increase of over $5.5 billion above current spending. With this increase, nutrition programs make up over two-thirds of the entire Farm Bill budget. Specialty crop programs in the commodity, research and nutrition titles receive nearly $2 billion in the Senate bill.

I do have concerns over several measures included in the bill but am hopeful these concerns will be addressed in the final bill. Since the Senate passed H.R. 2419 with amendments, the Farm Bill now goes to a conference committee to work out the differences between the House and Senate versions. Rest assured, as a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and a conferee for the Farm Bill and a former chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, I will continue to work for strong, responsible farm policy.

Again thank you for taking the time to contact me. If you would like more information on issues before the Senate, please visit my website at http://roberts.senate.gov. You may also sign up on my home page for a monthly electronic newsletter that will provide additional updates on my work for Kansas.

With every best wish,

The chance of Senator Roberts engaging in "responsible farm policy" are slim to none. The only responsible farm policy is no farm policy. How does government payment result in stability in the wake of a crop failure? We all pay higher prices when crops fail. Why should the government and tax payers assume the farmers' risk? There is private insurance that can protect the farmer. Yes it is expensive, but there is a lot of risk in farming. Farming is no different that any other industry insuring their receivables. Taxpayers are no longer helping Depression-era farmers that are trying to survive. Instead, we are subsidizing multi-millionaires with incomes that are nearly twice the average American family.