Clinton Will Offer Farm Income Booster

January 11, 2000

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman Monday said President Clinton will offer a farm income enhancing counter-cyclical assistance program when the fiscal 2001 budget is presented to Congress. He said the proposal could follow the outline of Rep. Charles Stenholm's supplemental income plan introduced last year.

He said the 1996 farm law "is flawed, it's not working." Despite $22 billion in direct payments last year to farmers, "pockets continue to struggle (because of) low prices and high surpluses," he said.

However, he would not go into detail on just what kind of proposal was being developed for submission with the fiscal 2001 budget. Mentioning Stenholm's bill implies that the administration may proposal direct payments to farmers when commodity prices decline below certain levels.

Glickman also said:

--Congress should grant permanent normal trade relations with China;

--A final rule will be issued defining organic farming and organic farm products;

--Regulations implementing mandatory livestock pricing should be finalized by mid-summer;

--There will be no new regulations if Congress expands the Conservation Reserve Program acreage to 40 million;

--Although more information is needed from the Food and Drug Administration, there appears to be no necessity for mandatory labeling of genetically modified crops;

--The 5 million tons of food requested by Russia remains under administrative review with no timetable for a final decision;

--The United States still has hopes for starting worldwide trade reform talks this year, despite the failure of December's World Trade Organization in Seattle.

Glickman also announced plans for $180 million in new USDA investments in projects aimed at expanding the rural economy, promoting agricultural research and developing new agricultural products and practices for the future.

He awarded $60 million in fund for rural America research and economic development grants; the remaining $120 million will be distributed through a competitive grant process under the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems. However, Congress has declined to fund the initiative in each of the last two years.