10/29/07 Senate farm bill's impact on Idaho

Idaho's Mike Crapo sits on the two Senate committees that deal with the farm bill; finance and agriculture. Now that the Ag Committee has completed its work the bill goes to the Senate for a vote. The legislation continues and expands programs including specialty crops, wheat, barley, pulse crops, sugar, organic and wool. Specialty crop funding is expanded to 270 million over five years, a nearly 50 million dollar increase. Crapo says work needs to be done to improve conservation program funding and a new provision called Average Crop Revenue or ACR. CRAPO "This program basically allows commodity program producers to choose to forego those traditional farm programs, the direct payment, counter cyclical payment and the LDP program and instead receive an average crop revenue payment." The Senate bill also creates the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer pilot program for water conservation and quality. CRAPO "This is a two million dollar program over five years with mandatory funding and it will enable the NRCS to look any number of other opportunities that may arise to help to protect and strengthen the aquifer." Overall Crapo says the Senate bill is a good one but there are a lot of differences with the House passed farm bill that still have to be ironed out. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott