Glickman Lays Out 1999 USDA Record, Future

January 19, 2000

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman provided little new information in a "January column" written for USDA's web site and posted Tuesday, but laid out USDA's record for 1999 and what is planned for 2000. Some of the $22.7 billion in direct payments to farmers last year was made necessary by a farm policy "that fails to provide the critical support" farmers need, he says.

Glickman said he was "proud" USDA provided the direct payments and more than 37,000 loans and loan guarantees worth almost $4 billion in credit and delivered a multibillion dollar emergency assistance package passed by Congress last fall. But that also meant the 1996 farm law "is not living up to its promise."

However, he stopped short of saying the administration would try to revise the law when Congress returns later this month for the second half of the 106^th session. Instead he again said President Clinton would propose a countercyclical income assistance program as part of the fiscal 2001 budget

"Throughout the year I will be working closely with both parties in Congress to further repair the holes in the farm (law), especially the hole that exists where there was once a strong farm safety net," he said.

He again promised to implement a mandatory livestock price reporting bill signed into law last year and pursue alternative forms of agriculture, such as organic farming. "We expect to release the final set of organic agriculture standards which should stimulate further growth in what is already a multibillion dollar market," he said.