I feel moved to respond to recent commentary that called into question the value of the 2014 farm bill, one day after its passage in the House and the day before the Senate approved it and sent it to President Barack Obama for signing.
With the expiration of the 2008 farm bill, and an ad hoc one-year extension having expired months ago, the security of a five-year farm bill was imperative.
I want to thank those members of the Arkansas delegation who voted for passage. They understand that sustainable agriculture can only be achieved if long-term stability and profitability are part of the equation. Sen.John Boozman and Rep. Rick Crawford were among the conferees who worked diligently to bring about the compromise bill.
As a third-generation farmer who raises cotton, wheat, rice, corn and soybeans, I say that passage of the farm bill should be applauded. I know my friends at the Arkansas Rice Federation and Agricultural Council of Arkansas agree, along with several other agriculture groups.
The benefits of the farm bill to the people of the United States far outweigh the investment they make with their tax dollars.
This farm bill is not perfect, with many of the historic safety-net programs utilized in the Mid-South now removed. The new legislation eliminates direct payments-which were crucial for many Arkansas farmers, particularly those who rely heavily on irrigation-while greatly expanding federal crop-insurance programs. But farmers and ranchers were in need of the certainty and continuity that a five-year program brings.
The purpose of federal farm policy is to ensure the availability and safety of the United States’ food supply. It does that by helping farmers and ranchers ride the uncertainties of world market forces, weather and government intervention. Bringing stability to the farm helps ensure the ability to raise animals and grow crops, and dulls some of the risks that farmers and ranchers routinely face.
No one can deny the importance of agriculture to Arkansas. One in six working Arkansans has an agriculture-related job. Agriculture accounted for $17 billion of value to the Arkansas economy, almost 17 cents of every dollar in our state.
The “farm bill” could easily be called the “food security bill” or the “rural America bill” because it addresses such a diversity of issues. In fact, there are 12 titles in the farm bill, and farm support accounts for just one-fifth of the bill’s spending.
Among the benefits of this farm bill: Conservation programs that allow farmers and ranchers to expand their environmental stewardship;
Rural development, including funding for rural water systems, the Delta Regional Authority, distance learning, rural broadband and telemedicine initiatives;
Research funding to keep our country’s agriculture technology at the cutting edge. This is a growing concern when there will be 9 billion people to feed in the world by the end of this century; we presently have 7 billion, and even with the high productivity of our farmers and ranchers, a child dies every 6 seconds due to malnutrition. We have got to feed the world;
The payment-in-lieu-of-taxes program that supports counties with high concentrations of federal lands;
It helps keep food prices affordable;
It helps ensure that the majority of our food supply is being grown in the U.S. under food-safety standards higher than most of the world;
It combines farm and nutrition programs, which we believe have a natural and obvious connection, where the production of food and the feeding of those in need are appropriately connected.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will save $16 billion to $25 billion over the next 10 years, half of those savings coming from the titles that support farming. I think that shows a good faith effort on behalf of agriculture to reduce federal spending, even at its own expense.
The farm bill is not something of which our nation should be ashamed; rather, we should be happy to defend and explain it to those who question its value and purpose. Almost every developed country has support for food and agriculture programs, some far more costly than U.S. farm programs. Restrictions on world trade, through tariffs, embargoes and political gamesmanship, mean the government touches food policy every day.
Programs that stabilize the farm economy, then, shouldn’t be viewed as government excess, but rather an essential function of a stable nation. Farm/food stability is arguably as important as infrastructure and national security.
Arkansas agriculture, and the farm bill that underpins it, is one of the great success stories in our state and country, and I am proud to be a part of it.
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Randy Veach of Manila in Mississippi County is in his sixth term as president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau, the state’s largest agricultural advocacy organization.
Editorial, Pages 15 on 02/20/2014