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| The Arizona Cattlemen's Association Industry News - 2007 Senate Farm Bill | |||||||||||||
| 2007 Senate Farm Bill Summary - Following Committee Mark-up - October 25, 2007 The Senate Agriculture Committee voted the 2007 Senate Farm Bill out of Committee by a unanimous voice vote. The markup was held over the course of two days, October 24th and 25th, and at this time we anticipate floor action during the week of November 5th. Several changes to the Farm Bill, those both supported and opposed by NCBA were made to the Chairman's Mark of the Bill. Below is a brief summary of those actions: EnBloc Amendment Following the opening statements of the Committee members, the Committee accepted by a voice vote an enbloc amendment of various items. Included in this amendment, and supported by NCBA, was language that increased the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) cap for producers participating in conservation programs to $2.5 Million. This cap is waived if 66.67 percent of producer income is derived from agriculture Language that would prohibit a packer from feeding, owning or controlling livestock prior to 14 days before slaughter was also included in this enbloc amendment. NCBA opposes this language due to the vast and numerous consequences it could have on the marketing alliances producers participate in. It is currently unknown how USDA will interpret this language, and how it will directly effect marketing arrangements and alliances; however, since most all value added programs are coordinated through the packing stage, it is likely that value-added marketing programs will be banned. Concerning country-of-origin labeling (COOL), the same language that was included in the House-passed Farm Bill was used in the Senate. The only change to the fix language was an expansion to include goat meat and macadamia nuts under those products that must list their countries of origin. Conservation Title Overall conservation funding in the Senate Farm Bill received an increase; however, that increase went mostly to the Conservation Stewardship Program (formerly known as the Conservation Security Program, CSP) and the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP). Funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) was held to baseline funding with no increase, and the Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP) was funded at $240 million over the life of the Farm Bill. NCBA saw a victory on payment limitations by having the contract cap raised from $240,000 per producer for the life of the Farm Bill to $450,000 per producer for the life of the Farm Bill. This change was championed by Senators Pat Roberts (R-KS), Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT). Due to the amazing efforts of our state affiliates in phone calls and emails, this amendment was accepted by a roll call vote on a margin of 13 – 8. NCBA expects there to be opposition to this change on the Senate Floor and, with your help, we will continue to fight to keep this increase as a part of the bill. Energy Title Included in the Energy Title of the Farm Bill, and of interest to cattlemen, was increased funding for alternative fuels research and development. NCBA policy supports the continued research and developments of alternative and renewable fuels. On the Senate floor, we could see amendments seeking to add some form of an increase in the Renewable Fuel Standard for feedgrain based ethanol to the Farm Bill. Consistent with member driven policy, NCBA will oppose these measures should they come up. Livestock Title NCBA was closely watching two potential amendments to the Livestock Title of the Farm Bill. One, sponsored by Senator Brown (D-OH), would change the Packers and Stockyards Act to strike the clauses that require proof of "competitive injury" in an anti-trust case. Instead, this clause would be changed to one of having to prove "unfairness." Unfairness is not defined in statute; therefore, what is "unfair" would be determined by each individual jury. NCBA is opposing this amendment. A second amendment was jointly sponsored by Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Norm Coleman (R-MN). Their amendment, drafted to respond to Senator Brown's amendment, would call for the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Attorney General to study the effect that striking competitive injury from the Packers and Stockyards Act would have on the livestock industry, as well as 80 years of anti-trust case law. NCBA supported this amendment. Neither of these amendments was offered during the Committee debate. However, it is possible that the Brown amendment will surface during the floor debate, and NCBA will continue its efforts to fight this amendment. Grassroots efforts State affiliated associations and producer-members were a huge part of our success during the Senate Ag Committee debate. States with members on the Agriculture Committee continually called and emailed the staff of their Senators urging them to either oppose or support amendments. We saw a huge increase in the number of CAPWIZ letter being sent in the last 48 hours, which certainly helps us frame the debate with Senate offices. As we move to the full floor debate, action from state affiliated organizations and producer-members is going to be critical. Floor expectations At this time, NCBA expects the 2007 Senate Farm Bill to come to the Senate floor either at the end of next week or the week of November 5, 2007. During the floor debate, we expect to see amendments dealing with payment limits and eligibility caps for conservation, competitive injury, animal welfare, food safety, antibiotics, energy and any host of other items. |
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