November 18, 2000

Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, believes the 106th Congress accomplished legislative goals that involve "immediate quick fixes" as well as other achievements that "offer hope for improvement and stability."

Congress "responded to the economic weakness in agriculture, devoting billions of dollars to disaster assistance, compensation for loss of markets and economic aid," Stallman said. "Commodities that have rarely received aid were included. The extra dollars devoted to assisting farm families were equal to almost half of U.S. net farm income for 2000."

He also cited permanent normal trade relations with China as another accomplishment. "The population of the U.S. and Mexico totals almost 376 million people. China has that many children under 14 years of age, a total population of 1.2 billion," he noted. "USDA predicts our farm exports to China will grow by billions of dollars within several years. Just as important, we will regain other Asian markets we lost because China subsidized their sales, something they can no longer do as a member of the World Trade Organization."

AFBF played a part in getting legislation approved to rotate tariff penalties among European Union countries and food products to encourage the EU to open its markets to U.S. beef. "Accomplishments in other areas may not be as visible as those in trade, but they also offer economic benefits to farm and ranch families," Stallman added.

Significant changes were made to the federal crop insurance program, improving benefits while lowering premiums paid by producers. In addition, pilot coverage programs will be developed and offered to livestock and specialty crop producers. "We also secured more research money for USDA, some of which will be used by the Office of Pest Management Policy to conduct professional reviews of Environmental Protection Agency risk assessments. Additionally, we were successful in getting the dairy price support program extended," he said.

The Department of Justice has an anti-trust lawyer devoted to reviewing agricultural mergers and acquisitions. The Bureau of Land Management must grant grazing permits to lessees when the agency fails to complete necessary environmental reviews within the allotted time. And a regulatory change took place at the Internal Revenue Service, changing the way farmers calculate taxes. "Now, using income averaging, we can report a negative income figure in the equation and amend our 1998 and 1999 tax forms and get some of our previously paid tax dollars back," Stallman said.

Presidential action and congressional inaction "thwarted two of our priority efforts," he added. Repeal of the estate tax was vetoed and a subsequent override failed. "And our mission to assure producers continued access to safe, economical agricultural chemicals attracted the support of a majority of members of Congress but progress was halted late in the session." Both of these campaigns undoubtedly will be revisited in the 107th Congress.