“While I appreciate the efforts of Chairmen Peterson and Harkin, and Ranking Members Goodlatte and Chambliss to determine a starting point on farm bill allocations, I was very disappointed it did not include the necessary resources for a meaningful weather related disaster program.

“Every year farmers and ranchers across the country face weather related disasters beyond their control. A lack of a disaster program is the single biggest hole in the safety net.

“I commend Senators Baucus and Conrad for their leadership and insistence that this vital program be included in the new farm bill. NFU is fully supportive of their efforts.”

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WASHINGTON (March 12, 2008) – As farm bill negotiations drag on, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives today voted to extend the 2002 Farm Bill. The extension sets a new deadline of April 18 for Congress to finalize the 2008 Farm Bill.

Below is a statement from National Farmers Union President Tom Buis.

“It’s disappointing that all sides of the farm bill debate could not come together in time to reach the March 15 expiration date. Farmers and ranchers expect conferees to use this extra time to finalize a farm bill that is good for producers.

“There has been more than enough time to finish a new farm bill. The House passed a farm bill in July and the Senate in December. It’s time for negotiators to get down to business and work out an agreement so a new farm bill can be signed into law.

“America’s family farmers and ranchers have been patient for quite some time, but the ground is thawing and planting season cannot be put on hold. Other vital farm bill constituencies including nutrition, conservation, rural development and renewable fuels are also affected by the uncertainty of not enacting a new farm bill.

“This new deadline provides yet another window of opportunity for an agreement to be reached to successfully conclude a new farm bill. It is past due.”

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Buis urged Mukasey to conduct a thorough and comprehensive anti-trust investigation before allowing the acquisition to proceed.

“Independent livestock producers have witnessed the control of the beef processing market rapidly consolidate into the hands of a few companies,” Buis said. “Without free, fair and transparent markets, independent livestock producers cannot survive. Further consolidation of the beef processing market will not foster competition.”

JBS-Swift has proposed purchasing National Beef Packing, LLC, the nation’s fourth largest beef packer; Smithfield Beef, the fifth largest beef processor; and Five Rivers Ranch Cattle Feeding, LLC, the nation’s largest cattle feedlot operation. Allowing these acquisitions to take place will give JBS-Swift a daily slaughter capacity of more than 42,000 head within the United States, making the Brazil-based company the largest U.S. beef processor.

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“With expanding production of a variety of renewable energies, economic opportunities are returning to rural America. A 50 million gallon ethanol plant increases a local community’s GDP by $152.3 million; increases household income by $40 million; increases local spending by $56 million; and creates more than 600 new jobs,” Buis said.

Buis testified this morning before the House of Representatives Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

“After years of market prices below cost of production and producers’ reliance on farm safety net programs, farmers are now receiving their income from the marketplace,” Buis said. “Farmers are not only benefiting from higher commodity prices, but also from local ownership of ethanol production facilities.”

Buis said farmers and other local investors own 40 percent of the nation’s ethanol production; these locally owned plants represent the single largest producer of ethanol in the country.

Buis applauded Congress for supporting the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) and urged immediate extension of the wind Production Tax Credit (PTC), which is set to expire December 31, 2008. He urged support for the renewable electricity industry by adopting a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which was passed by the House last year, but not included in the final energy bill.

“NFU believes it is critical for federal policy to foster the development of renewable electricity projects and in particular locally-owned and community-based projects,” Buis said.

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The delegates called for permanent law to take effect, rather than extend 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 have both passed very good farm bills that will benefit all Americans. It is time for the administration to negotiate a bill with the Congress.”

The current farm bill expires March 15. If a new bill is not enacted by that time the non-expiring provisions of the Agriculture Adjustment Act of 1938 and the Agriculture Act of 1949, or permanent law, will take effect.

Buis said that 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.

With rapidly climbing input expenses, the NFU delegates reiterated support for a purely counter-cyclical safety net tied to the cost of production.

The delegates also called upon the next President to pledge his or her support for restoring competition into agriculture markets and to select an Attorney General who will enforce current anti-trust laws.

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“The local food movement is one of the most exciting areas in agriculture today,” NFU President Tom Buis said. “In the wake of growing food safety concerns, from food produced across the globe, consumers want to know where their food comes from. The buy fresh – eat local food movement allows producers to earn a fair price and consumers the knowledge of their food’s origin.”

NFU delegates urged Congress to take action to fix America’s broken food safety inspection system to meet the challenges of our modern food system and ensure the safety of the U.S. food supply.

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AgJOBS is a widely supported compromise in response to the labor shortage in the agricultural industry.

The policy also urges Congress to pass compassionate, realistic and economically sensible comprehensive immigration reform; and urges an overhaul of the current trade negotiation system which is the root of our immigration challenge.

“It is important that comprehensive immigration reform be adopted at the federal level so states are not compelled to take on the issue themselves,” Buis said.

The policy position was adopted during NFU’s annual convention today in Las Vegas. More than 600 Farmers Union members are attending the three-day event.

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“The new farm bill is a crucial opportunity to support America’s family dairy producers,” NFU President Tom Buis said. “Dairy producers need a safety net that accounts for producers’ rising production costs. Congress should not include authority for dairy forward contracting or the dairy import assessment provision in the final farm bill.”

The delegates also called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to continue its investigation into the misreporting of nonfat dry milk (NFDM) prices. NFDM prices were misreported for a series of months in 2006, resulting in lost producer revenue.

“Millions of dollars were lost due to the price misreporting. USDA should take the necessary steps to compensate producers for lost income and Congress should act to ensure that similar errors do not occur in the future,” Buis said.

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“Trade agreements enacted under the free trade agenda have increasingly opened our borders to cheaper, lower quality products and decimated our trade surplus. American producers cannot compete with countries that do not adhere to our strong labor, health, environmental and safety standards,” NFU President Tom Buis said.

The delegates said pending free trade agreements in Congress serve only to further the failed NAFTA model and will not benefit the American agricultural economy.

Also cited as an example to improve trade agreements was the introduction of livestock diseases such as BSE and FMD that could potentially devastate the American agriculture economy. The delegates said it is not acceptable to allow animals and products into the United States, which pose a risk to American agriculture.

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National Farmers Union has been a long-time leader in finding and creating opportunities for renewable energy from the countryside and vowed to continue efforts to expand renewable fuels production in the United States.

“Home-grown renewable fuels has revitalized rural America; producers are receiving a fair price from the marketplace and rural economies are thriving,” NFU President Tom Buis said. “It is important, that as the renewable energy industry grows Congress enact policies that support local ownership and allow for producers across the country to be part of our energy solution.”

NFU supports:

• Expanding research and development dollars for renewable energy technology;
• Expanding the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) to ensure biofuels make up one-third of the nation’s fuel supply;
• Establishing a national Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) that requires 25 percent of energy come from renewable sources by 2025;
• Creating a Strategic Biofuels Feedstock Reserve;
• Establishing federal incentives for local ownership of all forms of renewable energy production;
• Establishing a program to address the lack of infrastructure;
• Extending and expanding renewable energy tax credits, incentives and loan guarantees; and
• Establishing a national mandatory carbon emission cap and trade system.

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