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Bipartisan Farm Bill Close to Completion

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Friday, May 2, 2008

The U.S. House and Senate, through conference committee work that lasted until 1 a.m. this morning, are close to completing a bipartisan farm bill that will run from 2008 to through 2012. Leading this effort was Seventh District Congressman Collin Peterson, Detroit Lakes, who heads the House Agriculture Committee.

Peterson and North Dakota Rep. Earl Pomeroy, during a telephone press conference this morning, said the new farm bill will benefit farmers in western Minnesota and eastern North Dakota through increased price supports and better risk protection.

The bill includes protection for farmers that experience storms, floods and other disasters.

Peterson and Pomeroy said a third lawmaker, North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad, also was instrumental in helping to draft a bipartisan farm bill via the conference committee.

“We three who represent farmers in and near the Red River Valley were able to provide good input for this bill,” Peterson said. “This bill is far reaching and affects people in all areas of the country. We didn’t get everyone we wanted, but we were able to work with others who have a broad base of interests. We’ve also worked very closely with the White House.”

Pomeroy said that the new bill has enhancements to the nutrition program which, he said, will benefit millions of Americans all across the nation.

The three area lawmakers see a need to move from corn based ethanol to cellulose ethanol.

Cellulosic ethanol is a type of biofuel produced from lignocellulose, a structural material that comprises much of the mass of plants. Corn stover, switchgrass, miscanthus and woodchip are some of the more popular cellulosic materials for ethanol production.

Former North Dakota Gov. Ed Schafer, recently named as head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, also has worked closely with the conference committee in an effort to craft a new five-year bipartisan farm bill and one that the White House staff and President Bush can support.

On Thursday Minnesota U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman also expressed support for a bipartisan farm bill, and one that Congress and the White House can support.

The bill crafted this week also includes wording for new farm loans, milk producer compensation and moving forward with renewable energy, also of benefit to western Minnesota and eastern North Dakota.

“We’ve has less resources (funding) available for this new five-year farm bill than we did five years ago,” Peterson said this morning, “but people in both parties have tried to come together to get this bipartisan bill completed.”

One of the biggest challenges, Peterson said, is to convince lawmakers in larger metropolitan areas of the need for farm supports and risk protection for farmers.

“Even though the conference committee called it quits at 1 a.m., I kept working until 3 a.m.,” Peterson said. “It’s not only me, but others also are working very hard to get this bipartisan bill wrapped up. I’m confident we can do this by Monday this coming week.”

http://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/news/2008/may/02/bipartisan-farm-bill-close-completion/

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Comment: Farm Bill is worth approx. $300 Billion