Obama's detailed budget and agriculture

Farm and Ranch May 11, 2009 President Obama sent Congress a detailed 2010 federal budget last week that cuts or kills 13 agriculture programs. White House Budget Director Peter Orszag says ag cuts include most of the same reductions the President put in the bare-bones budget outline he submitted in February.

Orszag: “In general we have not changed policies so there are a whole variety of proposals that we put forth in February. The world has evolved a bit since. We have incorporated those proposals in the new document as a matter of principle.”

Among those proposals is phasing out direct payments to farmers with sales exceeding 500-thousand dollars a year, something Congress has already rejected. Obama’s budget would also reduce crop insurance subsidies to farmers and insurers; cap farm program payments at 250-thousand dollars per person and eliminate all federal support for the Resource Conservation Development Program. Budget Director Orszag says:

Orszag: “Chairman Conrad; Chairman Peterson; other leaders with regard to agricultural policy, have all said that agricultural savings are possible.”

The Ranking Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Saxby Chambliss, is critical of the proposed reductions. Chambliss says he isn’t certain how the President can justify slashing agriculture to appear fiscally responsible one day - and then spew out billions of dollars to ‘distressed industries’ and programs the Administration views as more worthy the next. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.