Corn Growers Still Want Freedom to Farm

September 1, 1999

The 1996 farm law, nicknamed Freedom to Farm, isn't responsible for the current economic crisis in agriculture, says Tim Hume, Walsh, CO, National Corn Growers Association official. Abandoning it "is not the answer."

In recent months there have been calls from the Clinton Administration for Congress to implement changes to the law in the face of low commodity prices and depressed farmer incomes. Republicans are not likely to go along, however. The bill essentially was a Republican concept.

"Lately it's been popular to pin all of our problems on the Freedom to Farm provisions of the 1996 farm bill. But Freedom to Farm did not cause the current economic crisis, and abandoning it is not the answer," Hume told the Commission on 21^st Century Production Agriculture at a recent session to seek information for the future of U.S. farm policy.

"The nation's corn growers continue to support a market-oriented approach to farm policy -- an approach that allows farmers to make the production decisions for their operations and focuses on building demand for corn both in the United States and abroad," Hume says.

If Freedom to Farm is going to work, Hume adds, there needs to be a commitment to research, affordable and effective crop insurance, a strong global economy, tax system reforms and efficient transportation systems. "Because these factors are not fully in place, America's farmers find ourselves in a very difficult position."