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Guest Commentary May 15, 2002
Farm Bill Falls Short
The Honorable Chuck Hagel
Despite what many are calling a victory for farmers, the new six-year farm bill headed for the President's desk may well sound the death knell for smaller and mid-sized family farms and independent livestock producers. And it may very well be the last farm bill to grind its way through Washington. This bill pulls American agriculture backward when the rest of the world is going forward.
Proponents hail the measure as a "safety net" to cushion family farmers and rural America from financial hardship. Despite some positive measures in the legislation, including a new conservation incentives and a modest energy title, the bill's glaring shortcomings far outweigh its virtues.
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This farm bill is not a new approach, nor is it a new policy. It is a step backward into an antique farm policy of more government command and control. This could have been a good farm bill had it incorporated some of the innovative ideas that had been put forward. Instead, this bill will continue to expand a policy that ensures commodity prices will drop lower and remain low, and that land prices and rents will continue to go up.
Farmers in Nebraska made clear to me they wanted Washington to crack down on unlimited payments going to large farm operations. It is ridiculous for Washington to shovel the lion's share of agricultural benefits to a handful of producers. These lopsided payments encourage and subsidize overproduction, keep commodity prices low, drive up land prices, and allow large farms to outbid and buy up other producers with taxpayer dollars. ...
This farm bill will be especially detrimental to beginning farmers and the next generation of potential farmers. Two-thirds of all farm support monies go to just 10 percent of farmers. This will only help mega-farms to grow bigger at taxpayer expense, gobble up more farmland and inflate land rental rates, all of which makes it harder for beginning farmers to get started.
We cannot overlook the effects this farm bill will have on the cost of farmland. Unlimited government payments will only encourage large farm operations and wealthy, absentee landowners to buy more ground, no matter how low the commodity prices drop. Yet, nearly half of U.S. farmers rent at least some of their farm ground. They will be faced with even higher cash rents.
Also, by relying heavily on increased loan rates, this farm bill does not provide much of a 'safety net' for those farmers who fail to produce a crop. That is an important detail considering the severe drought in many parts of the country -- including much of Nebraska.
This bill seriously impairs the best hope for American agriculture's long-term viability and vitality -- trade. Exports account for 25% of gross cash sales for U.S. farmers and livestock producers over the last 10 years -- a projected total of $57 billion for this year.
America's farmers and ranchers produce the highest quality agricultural goods in the world. ... This farm bill should allow U.S. producers the opportunity to compete and succeed -- not hold them back and place blockades in front of them. ...
This farm bill is a glorified carbon copy of market-distorting legislation that will accelerate the vicious cycle of overproduction, low crop prices and soaring land values. The winners will be large agribusiness, big landowners and large farm operations. ...
Election-year politics trumped responsible policy and courage. This is the wrong farm policy, at the worst possible time.
Chuck Hagel, a Republican, is a U.S. Senator from Nebraska. The above commentary has been adapted from a statement Sen. Hagel released, May 10, 2002. To contact him, Click Here.
The above column has been distributed by PoliticsOL.com.
