Concern over Vilsack's comments on the safety net

Farm and Ranch February 25, 2009 Farm groups are concerned about recent statements from the Secretary of Agriculture saying there is a limited future for direct payments, which are a primary component of the farm program safety net. Smith: “Right now that is the only part of the safety net that farmers are utilizing. So of course it concerns us that he would talk about wanting to get rid of that prong of the safety net.� That is American Farm Bureau farm policy specialist Tara Smith. She says recent history shows that direct payments are needed. Smith: “We’ve seen skyrocketing input costs. We have seen just over the past 12 months commodity prices in a lot of cases drop 50%. And we know what kind of market uncertainty there is out there, what kind of credit uncertainty is out there. The only thing that farmers have underneath them right now in the safety net is the direct payment. None of the other payments are kicking in.� Smith says the volatility of agriculture makes the safety net essential. Smith: “I think there is a misconception out there that the public gets nothing for that direct payment dollar. I think we would disagree with that. The public gets the safest, least expensive and most abundant food supply in the world.� Agriculture Secretary Vilsack has talked about carbon credits and environmental payments as alternatives to a safety net, but Smith says while they are supportive of conservation programs, they serve a different purpose and do not constitute an economic safety net. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.