Budget resolutions and agriculture

Farm and Ranch March 31, 2009 U.S. Senate and House Budget Committees have completed work on their fiscal 2010 budget resolutions. In the Senate Committee an amendment to cap farm program payments at 250-thousand dollars per farmer was defeated. But to achieve savings in agricultural spending without reopening the 2008 Farm Bill, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad won approval for his amendment to cut crop insurance funding by 350-million dollars over five years. Conrad: "The savings could be achieved in the upcoming re-insurance agreement, the agreement between insurance companies and the government. The standard re-insurance agreement will start being negotiated later this year and will be in effect for the 2011 insurance year, which begins on July 1st of 2010. And I have been informed by experts from the Agriculture Committee that we could achieve these savings without doing damage to the crop insurance system." Conrad said the savings generated by the amendment would be used to increase spending on nutrition programs and reduce the federal budget deficit. The House version keeps the 2008 Farm bill intact and does not assume any spending cuts in agriculture Both of the non-binding budget resolutions are expected to pass the full House and Senate this week and then differences will be resolved in conference committee. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.