Farm Bill reaps praise - Westfair Communications

The recently completed 2007 Farm Bill features several new programs and additional funding to existing programs that will benefit Hudson Valley farmers, though it could have done more, some advocates say.

The $300 billion bill, which governs U.S. agriculture policy for five years, was recently passed by Congress. President George W. Bush has vowed to veto it, but the bill was passed with a supermajority, and many political observers say the potential veto would likely be overridden.

Increased funding for marketing and research of specialty crops, conservation programs and changes to the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program were among the aspects of the bill that could benefit lower Hudson Valley farmers, said Bob Hokanson, national affairs coordinator with the New York State Farm Bureau.

Under the MILC Program, payments are made to farmers when milk drops below a certain price level.

In the past, farmers have been paid 34 percent of the difference between the class I price and the “floor” price set by the program, he said.

Under the new bill, they will be paid 45 percent of the difference, which means that if the target price is $16.94 and milk drops to $15.94 per hundredweight, farmers will receive a subsidy of 45 cents per pound, for up to 3 million pounds.

The MILC program also was adjusted to take into account the cost of feed, he said.

“When the feed cost increases, it raises the floor price,” he said.

Hokanson further said the increased funding for specialty crops, for research and marketing, and for elements such as pest eradication and promotion of goods would benefit the region”™s farms. Fruits and vegetables are considered “specialty” crops.
“That is something we advocated for are very please to see,” Hokanson said of the increased funding.

The bill includes $466 million for the Specialty Crop Block Grant program that focuses on efforts to enhance producers”™ ability to compete in the marketplace. It also includes $1.3 billion for new programs that support research, pest management, trade promotion and nutrition for the specialty crop industry.

The Farm Bill also increases funding to conservation programs by $7.9 billion. These include programs to reduce soil erosion, enhance water supplies, improve water and air quality, increase wildlife habitat and reduce damage caused by floods.

Funding for the farm and ranch land protection program, designed to protect agricultural lands from urban and suburban development pressure, was doubled, and funding for other environmental programs also was increased.

Orange County Onion Grower Chris Pawelski also praised these and other aspects of the farm bill, but was disappointed the Conservation on Muck Soils program (COMS) was left out.

Pawelski praised U.S. Rep John Hall, D-Dover Plains, whom he said fought to get the program onto the bill.

“That would have really helped out,” he said. “Muck farmers are underserved.”

The COMS program would have provided a $300 to $500 payment to farmers who implement specific soil conservation practices on muck soils.

Muck soils are a minority soil type found in limited locations across the country, including parts of Orange County that Paweslki and others farm. Muck soil is also found in Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin.

But overall, Pawelksi said the Farm Bill was “a definite victory.”

“It”™s the first major farm bill that takes specialty crops into consideration,” he said. “Fruit and vegetable crops account for 40 percent of (U.S. agriculture) sales; yet most federal farm programs do not recognize us.”