Wheat growers and the next farm bill
Washington Ag Today April 22, 2010 The U.S. House Agriculture Committee began hearings this week on the next farm bill, the one to follow the expiration of the 2008 legislation in 2012. Committee Chairman Collin Peterson wanted to get an early start on a new farm bill and he thinks everything should be on the table to begin. That includes the direct payments grain producers get as part of the farm program safety net. As Brett Blankenship, President of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers, explained in a recent interview, the direct payment is still important to producers. Blankenship: “He is approaching things from a crop insurance-risk management aspect. For us in the northwest the direct payment is part of that scheme as it helps us manage our risk. Further, growers are accustomed to buying crop insurance to protect the risk of their investment. Landlords less so. The direct payment is very important to landlords. So we are trying to protect the concept of the direct payment because it is the one aspect of the current farm bill that is compliant with WTO ramifications. So, as far as international trade agreements that is one or our best tenets of the farm bill.” The House Ag Committee plans on holding several farm bill field hearings around the country April 30th through May 3rd with one of the sessions to be held in Boise, Idaho. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on Northwest Aginfo Net. ?
