JONESBORO — Farmers from six states asked a congressional agriculture panel Friday to consider the diversity of crops in the South when preparing a draft of a new farm bill.
Ten farmers, from Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana, testified during a hearing at Arkansas State University that was held by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla. The farmers raise cotton, rice, corn, soybeans, peanuts and wheat. One farmer also raises catfish in Keo, and another raises cattle in Mountain View.
The current farm bill is set to expire Sept. 30, prompting lawmakers to gather testimony in field hearings around the country while they draft a new bill.
Many of the farmers Friday criticized the bill’s generalities when dealing with different crops.
“A one-size-fits-all farm program cannot address the diversity, and I hope that the eventual farm bill will offer a range of programs structured to address the needs of the different commodities and production regions,” said Bowen Flowers of Clarksdale, Miss.
Several said they were concerned about crop insurance.
Larry Veach, a cotton, soybean, rice and corn farmer from Manila, said insurance did not cover grain stored in bins that were flooded last year on his farm.
“It’s been difficult,” he said. “Stored grains do not have protection. That needs to be addressed in the farm bill.”
Mike Freeze, an aquaculture producer at Keo Fish Farms, urged the congressmen to ask the Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency to include catfish and other food fish within its livestock risk insurance programs.
“These insurance programs allow farmers and ranchers to purchase insurance policies to protect against price and input cost volatility,” he said. “Catfish ... farmers would benefit from access to these existing insurance products, allowing them to purchase a product to protect against unexpected increases in feed costs or drops in market pricing.”
Rep. Rick Crawford, RArk., an Agriculture Committee member who was on the panel, said he’s confident Congress can draft a new farm bill by the Sept. 30 deadline, but he urged members to work quickly.
“As times go on, the cuts will go deeper if we don’t act quickly,” Crawford said. “I think we can get it done. There are some obstacles still ahead, but the quicker we can work on those, the better chances we have of getting it done.”
House Agriculture Committee members Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, and Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., also attended Friday’s hearing.
The panel had already met in New York and Illinois before Friday’s hearing in Jonesboro. It will meet in Dodge City, Kan., on April 20, for its final hearing.
“We’ve seen a lot of geographical practices,” Crawford said. “In Kansas, it’s wheat and cattle. In Arkansas, rice is the main crop.”
He said crop insurance changes are vital for Arkansas farmers, and he opposes the “across-the-board” aspect of the farm bill now.
“It’s different for irrigated crops versus non-irrigated crops,” Crawford said. “Rice producers are hurt. Arkansas produces about half of the nation’s rice, but there are only about 3 million acres planted in the state. It’s difficult to appropriate a general crop insurance plan to different crops in different areas.”
Business, Pages 28 on 03/31/2012