Obama On Ag Part 2

Obama on Ag Part 2. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.

The Obama administration has released a report on America's agricultural economy and announced a commitment to invest over $2 billion in rural small businesses. At the same time the President spent some time commenting on the Senate’s Farm Bill projection.

OBAMA: We are supportive of the Senate farm bill. I appreciate the bi-partisan spirit that folks have taken in getting this done. With the farm bill set to expire it’s critical that Congress pass legislation that provides certainty for rural America and that includes needed reforms and savings. The new farm bill should promote rural development. It’s got to preserve a farm safety net. It’s got to maintain strong nutrition programs, advance agricultural research. We’ve got to enhance conservation

The President says we have to honor our World Trade Organization commitments and do it under an umbrella reform where we can save money. He talks about the $800 billion in the Senate bill for food assistance.

OBAMA: Food assistance helps families put food on the table but it also benefits farm and rural economies so we’re looking forward to working with Congress to structure reporting requirements. There’s a proposed research foundation in ways that will maximize and facilitate agricultural research. We think that there’s a way of balancing the needs of - families often times work hard but are still having trouble supporting themselves. Combining that with the needs of an agricultural community that I think is interested in making sure everybody’s got enough to eat.

And how does the President feel about getting a new bill in place before the old bill expires.

OBAMA: I think it’s important just to provide certainty particularly in a situation like this where you’ve got good bi-partisan dialog taking place. There’s no reason to delay. I think Congress would be well served to go ahead and get this done.

And then there’s the charges that the EPA is overreaching their bounds.

OBAMA: One of the things that we try to do is enhance conversations between the EPA and the farm community and in some cases we’ve done unprecedented measures where the EPA administrators actually traveled and talked to folks on a regular basis. If you look at the actual track record there have been a lot of scare tactics and horror stories about what the EPA might be doing or is thinking about doing but in truth the EPA actually has been a very responsible partner with the agricultural community with trying to craft rules that promote conservation and protect peoples health without unduly burdening the agricultural community.

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.