Farm Groups Ask for More Money

February 8, 2001

Citing likely continued low commodity prices and rising production costs, the American Farm Bureau Federation and 22 other farm groups have asked congressional agriculture leaders to support additional funding for agriculture in the fiscal 2002 federal budget and ensuing years.

In a letter to House Agriculture Chairman Larry Combest (R-Texas) and Senate Agriculture Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), the farm groups asked the chairmen to urge the House and Senate Budget committees to provide additional agricultural funding "equal to at least the same level of emergency economic loss assistance" that was provided for the 2000 crop.

According to the letter, the new funding request would be in addition to Congressional Budget Office projections for farm program outlays for each fiscal year. "

The U.S. agricultural economy continues to face historic low prices and producer income, as well as losses due to weather and other disasters," the groups said. "As a result, outlays under regular and emergency Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) programs have risen sharply in the past three years, to an estimated $32 billion in FY-2000. U.S. farmers and livestock producers would much prefer receiving their income from the marketplace. Unfortunately, the forecast for 2001 is for continued chronic low prices and increasing input costs that will likely necessitate further emergency assistance."

The groups urged Lugar and Combest to seek additional funding when they make recommendations to the Budget Committees regarding "funding requirements for agriculture over the next 10 years." "We believe that agriculture's funding requirements under both the current farm bill and its successor need to be addressed in the FY-2002 Budget Resolution," the farm groups stated. "To facilitate the development of new farm legislation, it is important for the budget resolution to provide sufficient funding to enable the authorizing committees to develop effective agricultural policies. In addition to farm income support and conservation compliance, these policies include rural development, research, and export programs, as well as a program to compensate producers for voluntary conservation practices."

While the farm groups stated the request would "add significantly to projected outlays for agriculture programs," they said additional funding is needed to give the Agriculture Committees "sufficient flexibility in the budget to provide adequate economic loss assistance, and to write effective long-term farm legislation."

The additional funding would include the amount expended for emergency farm assistance in 2000, including supplemental farm program (AMTA) payments, oilseed, and dairy indemnity payments and assistance to producers of various specialty crops. In addition, the groups asked that funding "be provided for livestock disease eradication efforts and to offset the cost of compliance by the agriculture sector with conservation/environmental regulations."