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With the March 15 Farm Bill deadline fast approaching, the National Farmers Union on Tuesday "strongly urged" the Bush administration and Congress to settle their differences and pass a new Farm Bill "immediately."
And delegates at the National Farmers Union convention this week in Las Vegas also called for permanent law to take effect, rather than extending the 2002 Farm Bill, if no agreement can be reached.
"This is crunch time," NFU President Tom Buis said. "Last year, the House and Senate both passed very good farm bills that will benefit all Americans. It is time for the administration to negotiate a bill with the Congress."
If a new bill is not enacted by March 15, Buis said, the nonexpiring provisions of the Agriculture Adjustment Act of 1938 and the Agriculture Act of 1949, or permanent law, will take effect.
According to a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture analysis of the provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 and the Agricultural Act of 1949, they would "dramatically narrow the universe of producers who receive support and would do so in a way that most producers will view as irrational."
For example, the USDA said that only those wheat producers who happen to have wheat acreage allotments would be eligible for a minimum price support of $7.80 per bushel, as compared to the current price support loan rate of $2.75.
The analysis also reported that price support rates for corn would almost double, from $1.95 to a minimum of $3.78 per bushel. Dairy price supports would more than triple from $9.90 per hundredweight to more than $30. No price support could be offered for sugar or oilseeds.
Other impacts, according to the USDA:
* New enrollments in most conservation programs would cease as of March 16. Producers currently enrolled in both the Conservation Reserve Program and Wetlands Reserve Program would continue to receive technical assistance and program payments. Enrollment and payments for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Security Program would continue.
* Mandated funding for certain trade and international development programs would expire on March 16. Authority to finance sales and provide additional international food aid under Public Law 83-480 (PL480) would expire.
Buis said the reason there is broad support in Congress for both versions of the bill is because of the increases in spending for nutrition, conservation, renewable energy, specialty crop and rural development programs. Without these increases, it would be difficult to pass an extension of the 2002 bill.
"Both the House and Senate bills make record investments in rural America while maintaining a strong safety net for producers," Buis said.
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