Agriculture's Tough Road Ahead
Agriculture’s Tough Road Ahead. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.
The 2012 Farm Bill is going to be full of challenges with the economic troubles that the U.S. has ahead of it. And that was the subject of a Farm Bill hearing last week in Kansas by the Senate Ag Committee Chair, Debbie Stabenow and other ag leaders. Stabenow says the Farm Bill truly is a jobs bill, something all Americans should care about.
STABENOW: 16-million people in this country work because of agriculture. Because thousands and thousands and thousands of people in Kansas and all around our country; one out of 4 in Michigan jobs are in agriculture and so it’s critically important, not just for producers but for all of us to care about agriculture policy and having it be effective.
She says there are tough choices ahead, but adds she believes agriculture has already taken substantial, disproportionate cuts.
STABENOW: We also know we have some tough choices ahead. There’s no doubt that we’re going to face another round of serious cuts in the deficit reduction process that’s been set up. Agriculture has already taken substantial - and in my judgement - disproportionate cuts in the current budget and Senator Roberts and I are working very closely to make sure that does not happen in the future.
Pat Roberts, Senate Ag Committee Ranking Member, talks about how this year is a clear example of the need for a farm safety net, but also acknowledges the need to consider all department programs under the budget review and says Ag Committees should lead that effort.
ROBERTS: They’re national in scope because all they must protect producers from all states on a base level. This year in Kansas as a case in point, have a need for a strong safety net. Boy did we find that out yesterday and what we have found out this year. I don’t know what it is about Mother Nature. Here we’re going from an earthquake yesterday to a drought today and some people are going back to Washington to a hurricane. This is a very unusual year. We know that our programs face budget pressure and they should. The federal debt and deficit are out of control. All of the department programs should be under consideration and a budget review and the agriculture committees with the best experience and knowledge of these programs should lead in that effort. Global population continues to grow at a rapid pace. We’re going to exceed 9-billion people on this planet in the next several decades; that is a lot of mouths to feed.
That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.
