The loss of Senator Ted Kennedy last month created a vacancy in the position he held as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the choice fell to me whether to take on the challenges and responsibilities heading that committee. This was a very hard decision, since to do so I would have to relinquish my position as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. On balance, I felt that – especially given the critical need to reform health care and strengthen education for all Americans – I should move to the new chairmanship.
Since my first year in Congress, 1975, I have been deeply involved in crafting our nation's agriculture, food and rural policies, as a member of the Agriculture Committee of the House of Representatives for 10 years and of the Senate Agriculture Committee, where I will continue to serve actively as a senior member. During my years in the Senate, I have had the great privilege of serving as Chairman of the Committee during the writing and enactment of two new farm bills: the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 and the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, both of which passed Congress with strong bipartisan support. Through this legislation we improved income protection in agriculture, greatly boosted farm and rural renewable energy initiatives, helped farmers and ranchers conserve natural resources on millions of acres of land and strengthened food assistance for American families who vitally need it. Working with people in the agriculture, nutrition, and rural community to accomplish key objectives has been and will continue to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas has taken over as Chairman of the Agriculture Committee. I congratulate Senator Lincoln on her important new role. She has a rich agricultural history, starting with growing up on a farm, and she is a proven strong voice for agricultural producers and rural communities across America. I know she will lead the Committee with genuine passion and deep commitment.
Over the past month, I spent a lot time traveling throughout Iowa, as I do every August. Indications are we are headed toward big crops – and we all hope the frost holds off and the weather cooperates for a good and safe harvest season. Iowa's farmers, our nation and our world need a good crop to meet food, feed and biofuel demands. Farmers also need good markets and decent prices, so I was pleased to chair a hearing in Sioux City to explore the great potential that biofuels have to help increase farm income and grow our rural economies while at the same time reducing our dependence on foreign energy. I know that pork and dairy producers are having a very hard time right now, and so I am seeking to help improve their situations. I am pleased the Department of Agriculture, under Secretary Vilsack, has purchased more pork off the market, issued new disaster rules for livestock losses and approved emergency assistance for crop disaster losses.
Please keep reading to learn more about these and other agricultural issues.
Harkin Commends USDA for Pork Purchase
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced on September 3 that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) intends to purchase $30 million in pork products this fiscal year for federal food assistance programs. This purchase is in addition to the $151 million worth of pork the USDA has already purchased this year. Harkin has encouraged USDA to take steps such as purchasing more pork to help producers struggling to survive very low hog prices and to provide additional food for federal food and nutrition programs.
"This announcement comes at a crucial time. Pork producers in Iowa – and across the country – are struggling because of greatly depressed pork prices, a weak economy and unfair export trade restrictions," said Harkin. "I applaud Secretary Vilsack and the Administration for taking action to help these producers. The purchase of additional pork products will give much needed help to this suffering industry.
"USDA's purchase of pork products will not only help producers, it will also provide additional resources for our nation's food assistance efforts. Many low-income and jobless families, children and seniors rely on this assistance to have access to quality, nutritious food.
"I plan to continue working with Secretary Vilsack to further help our struggling pork producers, as well as low-income Americans who lack affordable and healthy food."
Additionally, Harkin plans to continue to push to open markets for pork exports to countries that have used H1N1 as a pretext to block U.S. pork, such as China and Russia.
FSA Responds to Senators' Request for Improvements to Livestock Disaster Assistance Rules
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is taking action in response to a July 28 letter Senator Harkin and a bipartisan coalition of Senators wrote to USDA calling to modify new rules of the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), in order to provide fairer payments for livestock losses caused by harsh weather.
The LIP is important, to a number of feedlots that lost beef cattle close to market weight due to severe heat over the past few months. USDA originally proposed rules that would pay an indemnity far less than half of the value of those animals, as compared to the 75 percent rate prescribed in the farm bill. In the current recession, in which most livestock producers are facing serious economic pressure, it is important that the program rules provide proper compensation as Congress intended.
As a result of this letter, FSA has begun to make some changes to their rules. The first step was the creation a new weight range for non-adult beef animals that are above 800 pounds. Prior to this change, there were only two weight categories: above 400 pounds and below 400 pounds. The category of above 800 pounds will actually pay on the basis of a 1000 pound animal. This change will allow producers to receive reimbursement closer to the actual financial loss caused by an animal's death.
"I am pleased that USDA is responding to some of the concerns expressed regarding the rules of the Livestock Indemnity Program. This is a step in the right direction but there is much more that needs to be done," said Harkin. "I am hopeful that USDA will continue to address the concerns brought up in the initial letter and ensure that all livestock producers are adequately compensated for animals lost due to natural disasters."
Improved Farm Storage Facility Loan Program Sign-Up Begins
USDA is now accepting applications for the improved Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) Program. USDA adopted new rules that make the program even more beneficial and accessible to agricultural producers. The program is intended to provide loans to producers who may not otherwise be able to afford storage facilities. Senator Harkin worked to include these changes to the storage loan program in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, the farm bill.
"Whether farmers are growing typical field crops, biomass for biofuels or vegetables for the dinner table, they need storage facilities to help protect their crops. The problem is that storage facilities can be quite expensive, and many agricultural producers, particularly those who are just getting into the business of farming, do not have access to the capital they need in order to purchase the facilities that will enable them to more efficiently and profitably run their farms. The improved Farm Storage Facility Loan Program will give more producers the opportunity to borrow the money needed to help their operations grow and thrive," said Harkin. "Applications are now being accepted and I encourage all interested producers to consider applying for this enhanced program."
The improvements to the program include: the addition of eligibility for fruit and vegetable cold storage facilities and for hay and renewable biomass; loan terms of 10 and 12 years for some loans (in addition to the current seven year term); authority to provide a portion of the loan proceeds during construction of the storage facility prior to completion; a provision increasing the maximum loan amount from $100,000 to $500,000; and a provision allowing borrowers to increase the down payment from 15 percent to 20 percent.
For more information contact your local USDA office or visit www.usda.gov.
Farm Safety Awareness Week Encourages Rural Roadway Safety
Each year, since President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first proclamation in 1944, one week is dedicated to focus attention on and promote farm safety and health. This year, National Farm Safety and Health Week will be September 20 – 26, with the special theme for 2009 being "Rural Roadway Safety: Alert, Aware and Alive."
The National Safety Council estimates there are approximately 15,000 collisions involving farm vehicles annually on U.S. roadways. Farm equipment roadway collisions cause an average of 94 fatalities each year according to the U.S. National Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The Iowa Department of Transportation notes the most common time of day for collisions is between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and that studies show that left-turn, rear-end and passing collisions are the most common types of farm vehicle roadway accidents.
"With harvest season about to begin, it's time to remember that the families and workers who produce our nation's agricultural abundance are engaged in one of most hazardous of all occupations. Statistics tell a story of far too many deaths and injuries that could have been avoided," said Harkin. "With common-sense care and caution, motorists can reach their destinations safely, farmers can get their work done safely, and we can avoid needless roadway injuries and fatalities."
As farmers across Iowa begin harvest, roadways will see increased farm equipment traffic. Below are a few tips for motorists and farm equipment operators to help make Iowa's roadways safer – during harvest and planting seasons and throughout the year:
- Keep alert and watch closely for slow-moving vehicles, and slow down immediately upon spotting one. Most agricultural equipment travels at 25 miles per hour (mph) or less. A motorist traveling at 55 mph who is a football field's length behind a vehicle going 25 mph will close the distance in only five seconds.
- Farm equipment can be longer and wider than it appears. Motorists should be patient, since the farmer may not be able to move over to allow you to pass. Only pass farm equipment when it is safe to do so, with plenty of room to get around and ahead.
- Farmers must remember to place slow moving vehicle (SMV) emblems on equipment traveling at less than 25 mph and make sure they are clearly visible, clean and not faded.
- Farm equipment operators should use warning flashers as well as signal lights or proper hand signals to indicate to motorists their location and intentions in advance of turns.
- Slow moving vehicles should be driven in the right-hand lane as close to the road's edge as is safe, not half on the road, half on the shoulder. Equipment operators should not encourage or signal motorists when to pass but should pull over when safe to allow traffic to pass.
- Operators should consider using an escort vehicle and other warnings to oncoming motorists when moving wide equipment on roadways, especially at night.
Bipartisan Group of Senators Urge a Cooperative Process in Negotiating Contracts Governing Delivery of Federal Crop Insurance Program
On August 17, Senator Harkin led a bipartisan group of ten Senators in calling upon USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) to improve the process used in negotiating a new reinsurance contract between the federal government and private crop insurance companies. The letter to Administrator William Murphy looks to upcoming negotiations over the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA), the standing contract which governs the financial relationship between USDA and the companies that deliver the Federal Crop Insurance Program to farmers. In the letter, they remind Mr. Murphy of the provisions of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 regarding the SRA, and of the need to conduct a fair and open negotiations process. They also urged the Administrator to seek improvements to the program that will benefit agricultural producers and improve the delivery of insurance.
"The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 requires the Corporation to consider, in the renegotiation, alternative methods for determining reimbursement rates for administrative and operating costs, although it does not require a new method to be adopted if no suitable alternative is found," the Senators wrote. "Any new approach must provide fair and adequate compensation to support program delivery so that farmers and ranchers continue to have access to insurance."
The most recent negotiation in 2005, was a very contentious and lengthy process. For this reason, Congress worked to make changes in the recent farm bill to guide how the negotiations would unfold.
WTO Makes Ruling in Brazil Cotton Case
On August 31, a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel made the decision to award damages estimated at $295 million to Brazil after determining the United States' failed to fully comply with the findings of a 2002 cotton trade case. Raising tariffs on the other country's products is the normal approach used for trade retaliation. Additionally, Brazil may be allowed to retaliate through non-standard methods such as infringing on certain intellectual property rights (such as patents and copyrights) held by U.S.-based companies.
"This decision obviously sets up a new challenge for the United States in carrying out our farm programs," said Harkin "Fortunately, the monetary judgment was not as harsh as many had feared—Brazil had sought an award of $2.5 billion annually. The WTO continued certain errors in interpreting the U.S. cotton program and world cotton markets. Still, the decision is final and we must now find a practical way to deal with it. That is why it would have been preferable to settle these trade disputes through careful negotiations rather than WTO litigation, and it is unfortunate that the matter has come to this point.
"Although the monetary compensation awarded was far lower than sought by the Brazilian government, Brazil's new ability to disregard Unites States intellectual property rights has the potential to impose significant costs on the U.S. economy. Additionally, today's ruling is flawed because it is based on how the program impacted the cotton market between 1996 and 2002, when the United States' cotton programs were much larger. This compensation does not accurately reflect what is happening in the world cotton market today. It is my hope that the United States and Brazil can move forward and eventually find a resolution, although any decision on whether to further modify U.S. farm programs rests with the U.S. Congress."
In September 2002, the government of Brazil filed a case asserting that the U.S. cotton income support and export programs provide excessive subsidies to U.S. cotton producers, encourage overproduction and depress the world cotton market to the detriment of producers in Brazil and elsewhere. A September 2004 WTO panel supported Brazil's claims for the most part, prompting an appeal by the United States. This appeal was denied in March of 2005 and the United States was required to implement policy changes. Subsequently, the U.S. government modified its export credit guarantee program and repealed the cotton step 2 program for upland cotton. The cotton step 2 program provided additional payments to both importers and domestic users of U.S. cotton, and was deemed by the WTO a prohibited export subsidy.
In August 2006, the government of Brazil asserted that the U.S. government had failed to fully implement the ruling in the case made in March 2005. In December 2007, the WTO released the report of its compliance panel on the case. The report upheld many of the claims made by the government of Brazil, finding that the U.S. had failed to modify certain aspects of the domestic support for cotton producers, which had been found to violate WTO rules. The ruling set the compensation that the U.S. must provide to Brazil for these earlier findings.
Senate Agriculture Committee Holds Hearing to Explore the Potential of the Biofuels Industry
On September 1, Senator Harkin Chaired a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee hearing in Sioux City, Iowa to examine the expanding role of biofuels in America. He was joined by Senator Thune of South Dakota, showing that increasing the production and use of biofuels in America has strong, bipartisan support. Six witnesses testified at the hearing, bringing varied perspectives on the issue – from livestock owners, to seed companies to ethanol producers. The hearing highlighted the great potential that the biofuels industry has in the United States.
"We must reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy and focus on the production and use of renewable, homegrown sources, such as biofuels," said Harkin. "This hearing showed once again that there is significant potential to grow our biofuels industry in Iowa and across the nation, while at the same time reducing pollution and not harming our nation's food supply. I plan to continue to fight in the Senate for measures that will help to increase biofuel demand and production."
Harkin has long been a strong advocate for biofuels in the Senate. For instance, under the Renewable Fuel Standard that was passed in 2007, the United States will aim to produce and use thirty-six billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2022, compared to 9 billion last year. Harkin has recently introduced legislation that would make it much easier to build pipelines to transport biofuels from production centers in the Midwest to large population centers elsewhere in the country. Additionally, Harkin continues to push for more vehicles on the road that use biofuels, and to increase the amount of ethanol that can be legally – and safely – blended with gasoline for non-flex fuel vehicles.
