Fort Report: Now is the Time
What a difference a year can make. Traveling to Newman Grove this past weekend to help celebrate the 125th anniversary of the community's founding, I couldn't help but notice the green, blossoming landscape: corn plants breaking through the rich soil, tall prairie grasses waving in the wind, and the Platte River reclaiming its "mile-wide" status.
Last year at this time, a historic drought was on our horizon with devastating effects. Today, we hope the moisture keeps coming. The cool, wet spring has revitalized the countryside and lifted spirits on farms and in rural communities stretching from Panama to Pender.
In Washington, it's a new year as well, at least in terms of the Farm Bill - the federal policy that guides our nation's farm, food, clean energy, and rural development programs. After Congress failed to pass a Farm Bill in 2012, an extension of the current bill was approved to go into effect until September 30, 2013. Now it's time for Congress and the President to take up the responsibility of establishing reasonable policies that sustain the profound benefits agriculture provides all American citizens in terms of food security, energy security, economic security, and national security.
Recent developments indicate Congress is serious about getting the job done. Earlier this week, the Senate approved its version of the Farm Bill on a bipartisan vote of 66-27. The Speaker of the House announced that the House will debate a farm bill soon, and added that he will likely support the measure.
There are many details of the bill left up for debate. Significant reforms are in the making that would trim the total cost to taxpayers, encourage sound conservation practices, provide better risk management tools for farmers, and end the practice of providing direct cash payments across the board, including absentee land owners. In order to help those struggling in tough economic times, the legislation would ensure that food security programs receive strong support, but would also implement appropriate reforms that could save tens of billions of dollars. I am pleased to have worked directly with my colleagues on some of these important efforts.
Recognizing farmers and ranchers as the first stewards of the land, I recently introduced a bipartisan measure to ensure conservation planning on our most fragile farmlands. This concept is widely upheld as an important conservation initiative by many in the agricultural and environmental communities, and I am hopeful it will be included in the House Farm Bill. As a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, I introduced a successful amendment this week to preserve rural communities' access to competitive housing programs that assist in strengthening neighborhoods and supplementing affordable housing options. I am also hopeful a new Farm Bill will include key incentives for young and beginning farmers, ag entrepreneurs working in local foods and organic production, and rural communities pursuing rural renewable energy systems.
If the House passes its Farm Bill in coming weeks, differences between it and the Senate bill will need to be reconciled in a House-Senate conference. The work needs to get done. Congress has put off this important national policy for too long, wasting money and delaying needed reforms in the process. Now is the time to write a new chapter in agricultural policy for the good of our farm families and all Americans, rural and urban alike.
