The Next Farm Bill

The Next Farm Bill. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. Seems like we just got done working on the Farm Bill but if you remember the 2007 Farm Bill was not approved and passed the Congress until 2008. A new farm bill is voted on every 5 years so it really is not too early to be discussing the 2012 bill. House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson says there is one thing the new bill must provide. PETERSON: A Safety net for the average commercial production farmer out there. Because those guys don't have the deep pockets to be able and go out and have a half a million dollars themselves to put a crop in. The ag committee will hold two farm bill hearings in Washington DC over the next 3 weeks before taking the show on the road with 10 field hearings during May and June. PETERSON: In the past we've tried to have a one size fits all but maybe that might be something that's not the case in the future. If we don't address it then I think we may be back in the soup again here with the potential retaliation issues. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, H.R. 2419, also known as the 2008 U.S. Farm Bill was a $288 billion, five-year agricultural policy bill that was passed into law by the United States Congress on June 18, 2008. The bill was a continuation of the 2002 Farm Bill. A U.S. farm bill or farm bill is the primary agricultural and food policy tool of the Federal government of the United States. The comprehensive omnibus bill is passed every several years by the United States Congress and deals with both agriculture and all other affairs under the purview of the United States Department of Agriculture. It usually amends some and suspends provisions of permanent law, reauthorizes, amends, or repeals provisions of preceding temporary agricultural acts, and puts forth new policy provisions for a limited time into the future. Beginning in 1973, farm bills have included titles on commodity programs, trade, rural development, farm credit, conservation, agricultural research, food and nutrition programs, marketing, etc. Farm bills can be highly controversial and can impact international trade, environmental preservation, food safety, and the well-being of rural communities. The agricultural subsidy programs mandated by the farm bills are the subject of intense debate both within the U.S. and internationally. The first farm bill goes back to the Food and Agricultural Act of 1965 and was the first multiyear farm legislation, provided for four year commodity programs for wheat, feed grains, and upland cotton. It was extended for one more year through 1970. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.