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July 17
Farm Bill Interests

Lawmakers are expected to get down to the nitty-gritty this week of writing a five-year blueprint for the nation’s agriculture and nutrition programs.

The House Agriculture Committee’s goal is to deliver a 2007 farm bill that balances the competing interests of grain farmers, fruit and vegetable growers, ranchers, dairy farmers, agribusiness, environmentalists, rural energy producers and anti-hunger advocates. And that’s just a few of the groups interested in the bill’s outcome.

The 46-member panel begins work Tuesday.

House committee members will work on a nearly $280 billion main proposal to replace the 2002 farm bill that expires Sept. 30. It could be temporarily extended to give Congress more time to write a new bill.

The Senate agriculture committee may not produce its version until September. Because the budget is tight, lawmakers will work on a separate five-year $20 billion “wish-list” bill of additional spending if savings or cuts in other areas of the federal budget can be found to pay for them.

In the tug of war over farm bill money, critics say the defenders of the status quo are winning. But that could be changing as Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson gauges the likelihood of getting a farm bill through the full House where urban and suburban lawmakers are the majority.

Peterson, D-Minn., has warned agriculture lobbyists that he may propose tighter limits on an assortment of crop subsidies — payments designed to support crop prices and supplement farmers’ income.

As of Friday, the draft version of the bill allows farmers with an adjusted yearly income of $2.5 million to receive subsidies.

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