Farm Bill Focus is a presentation of the Red River Farm Network.  Check back regularly for updates from our nation's capital on farm bill issues.

October 31, 2007-Bush Selects Former North Dakota Governor to Lead USDA.  Ed Schafer is the nominee to take over as Agriculture Secretary. The Red River Farm Network was selected to join the White House pool of reporters to cover the White House announcement. The report can be heard at www.rrfn.com/FBF/110107-01.mp3.

October 30, 2007-Senate Ag Committee Passes Farm Bill.  NFU Leaders Looks Ahead to Conference Committee Process. RRFN's Don Wick reports from Washington, DC with comments from National Farmers Union President Tom Buis. Buis says funding is the biggest difference between the House and Senate bills. If everything moves quickly, Buis says the conferees could try and reconcile the two versions before Thanksgiving. Listen at www.rrfn.com/FBF/103007-01.mp3.

September 19, 2007-Farm Bill Timeline Discussed. RRFN's Mike Hergert talks to National Corn Growers Association lobbyist Jon Doggett and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson about the timeline for action in the Senate. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns also comments on the Senate proposals. For more, go to http://www.rrfn.com/FBF/091907-01.mp3.

September 19, 2007-Capitol Hill Press Conference Used to Promote Permanent Disaster  Title.  During the National Farmers Union Fly-in, lawmakers joined farmers and ranchers to voice support for a permanent disaster title in the 2007 Farm Bill. The NFU was joined by North Dakota Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad, Montana Senator Jon Tester and South Dakota Senator John Thune.

September 18, 2007-Senator Lugar Offers View on the Farm Bill. Listen to http://www.rrfn.com/FBF/091807-01.mp3. RRFN Farm Broadcaster Mike Hergert participated in a Capitol Hill event and caught up with Indiana Senator Richard Lugar. Lugar supports a controversial Farm Bill proposal. Learn more about Lugar's views in this update.

September 17, 2007-Every Week That Passes Without Senate Action on the Farm Bill is a Bad Week for Agriculture.  North Dakota Congressman Earl Pomeroy says the Senate needs to act now on the Farm Bill. RRFN's Mike Hergert also talked with National Farmers Union President Tom Buis about the need for a permanent disaster program. For more, listen to http://www.rrfn.com/FBF/091707-01.mp3.

August 16, 2007-The Discussion is Positive. Before the House Farm Bill was passed, the Administration levied a veto threat. During the August recess, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has continued to promote the White House position. While there may be disagreements, Johanns says the debate over the Farm Bill is positive. Listen at http://www.rrfn.com/FBF/081607-01.mp3.

August 6, 2007-Johanns and Peterson Trade Barbs at Farmfest Farm Bill Forum. One calls it a tax increase. The other claims a tax loophole was closed. During the Farmfest forum, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said the budget offsets in the House bill was done without hearings and input from the business community. The Johanns comments can be heard at http://www.rrfn.com/FBF/080707-01.mp3. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson didn't like the way the budget offset was handled, but that was beyond his control. At the same time, Peterson didn't cut the Administration any breaks. Hear the emotional response at http://www.rrfn.com/FBF/080707-02.mp3.

             (Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns)

(Rep. Collin Peterson, Chairman, House Agriculture Committee)

August 1, 2007-Work Remains on Farm Bill and Thune Says Short Extension is Likely. South Dakota Senator John Thune is glad the Farm Bill has made it through the House, but the prospects in the Senate are unclear. Go to http://www.rrfn.com/FBF/080107-01.mp3 for Thune's comments.

July 30, 2007-Reaction is Generally Positive. With Friday's passage of the House Farm Bill, the attention now shifts to the U.S. Senate. In this Red River Farm Network update, you'll hear from Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, NFU President Tom Buis, Minnesota Farm Bureau President Kevin Paap and others. Click on http://www.rrfn.com/FBF/073007-01.mp3 to hear more.

July 27, 2007-Farm Bill Passes the House. With 40 votes to spare, the House Agriculture Committee-passed Farm Bill survived contentious debate and passed today. Unusual for a Farm Bill, the debate was highly partisan. Democrats and Republicans argued over a last minute tax provision that was added to the bill to pay for nutrition spending.

July 26, 2007-White House Issues Veto Threat. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has announced the Administration's veto threat. Ranking House Agriculture Committee Minority Member Bob Goodlatte says the GOP members of the committee feel betrayed and will vote against the Farm Bill. The White House says a $4 billion bump in nutrition spending comes from a tax increase. North Dakota Congressman Earl Pomeroy says it is not a tax increase, but closes a tax loophole for foreign companies. Pomeroy says the White House threat helps Wisconsin Congressman Ron Kind's amendment. Pomeroy said that plan should be called the Bush-Kind amendment. Listen for more at http://www.rrfn.com/FBF/072607-01.mp3.

July 26, 2007-Senators Discount Veto Threat. While the attention has been on the House this week, the Upper Chamber will tackle the Farm Bill right after the August recess. The White House is threatening to veto the House Agriculture Committee Farm Bill plan, a move Senators Klobuchar (MN) and Thune (SD) discount. http://www.rrfn.com/FBF/072607-02.mp3.

July 25, 2007-Views from the Beltway. As the Farm Bill debate intensifies, RRFN is taking listeners to the newsmakers. This Farm Bill Focus highlights some of the faces behind the Farm Bill debate.

July 25, 2007-The permanent disaster program did not make it in the House bill; COOL did. North Dakota Governor John Hoeven and North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan hope a permanent disaster title will be seen in the Senate version of the Farm Bill. Regarding country-of-origin labeling, National Farmers Union President Tom Buis is at the center of the story. Buis and lobbyist Randy Russell represented the two sides of the COOL debate and found a compromise. Buis told RRFN that COOL could have been implemented sooner, but USDA's proposed rule said farmers "may have to have a passport, birth certificate and nanny for each animal; there was nothing any further from the truth, but they scared a lot of people." Listen for this update at http://www.rrfn.com/FBF/072507-02.mp3.

July 25, 2007-Wisconsin Congressman Ron Kind and the threat of a floor fight has agriculture's attention. In an interview with the Red River Farm Network, Kind said farm commodity prices are high, making this the perfect opportunity for Farm Bill reform. American Farm Bureau Federation lobbyist Mary Kay Thatcher says Kind's bill is making some inroads and agriculture must work to prevent "a terrible Ron Kind, verses the House Ag Committee bill." National Farmers Union President Tom Buis says Kind is causing some mischief, but Chairman Collin Peterson's bill will ultimately succeed. http://www.rrfn.com/FBF/072507-01.mp3.

July 24, 2007-Wisconsin Congressman Ron Kind is introducing a 'tweaked' FARM 21 Farm Bill proposal. The Kind amendment has the attention of traditional agriculture. In this update, you'll hear from Steve Williams (pictured) of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association, John Keeling of the National Potato Council and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson. http://www.rrfn.com/FBF/072407-02.mp3 

July 24, 2007-RRFN interviews House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wanted reform in the Farm Bill. We asked Peterson if the House Agriculture Committee bill goes far enough for Pelosi. http://www.rrfn.com/FBF/072407-01.mp3.

July 20, 2007-House Agriculture Committee Unanimously Passes Farm Bill WASHINGTON, D.C. - The House Agriculture Committee today passed a new Farm Bill that makes historic investments in conservation, nutrition and renewable energy while maintaining a strong safety net for America's farmers and ranchers. Additionally, for the first time, the 2007 Farm Bill provides substantial funding for the fruit and vegetable industry.

"This Farm Bill provides strong programs that will help American agriculture meet the 21st Century needs of the United States and the world with a safe, stable food supply, nutrition assistance, environmental benefits, and renewable energy products," Chairman Peterson said.

"We have incorporated some new ideas and important reforms in this Farm Bill, focusing farm program benefits so they get to real farmers and boosting investment in programs that help those who haven't received benefits through the Farm Bill before."

"It is a tradition for this Committee to produce a bipartisan farm bill and I am pleased that today we upheld a tradition that enables us to truly serve the best interests of American agriculture and all who enjoy the benefits of a safe, reliable and affordable food and fiber supply. I look forward to continuing to work with the Chairman in a bipartisan fashion as we move ahead with this farm bill," said Ranking Member Bob Goodlatte.

Important highlights of the Farm Bill (H.R. 2419) include:

. Investing more than $1.6 billion in priorities to strengthen and support the fruit and vegetable industry in the United States. A new section for Horticulture and Organic Agriculture includes nutrition, research, pest management and trade promotion programs.

. Providing farmers participating in commodity programs with a choice between traditional price protection and new market-oriented revenue coverage payments.

. Strengthening payment limits to ensure that people making more than $1 million a year (adjusted gross income) can't collect conservation and farm program payments and closing loopholes that allow people to avoid payment limits by receiving money through multiple business units.

. Rebalancing loan rates and target prices among commodities, achieving greater regional equity.

. Cutting federal payment rates to crop insurance companies that are making record profits due to higher crop prices.

. Extending and makes significant new investments in popular conservation programs, including the Conservation Reserve Program, Wetlands Reserve Program, Environmental Quality Incentive Program, Farm and Ranchland Protection Program, and many others.

. Expanding the USDA Snack Program, which helps schools provide healthy snacks to students during after-school activities to all 50 states and continuing the DOD Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, which provides a variety of fresh produce to schools.

. Strengthening and enhancing the food stamp program by reforming benefit rules to improve coverage of food costs and expand access to the program with additional funding support.

. Including key provisions that invest in rural communities nationwide, including economic development programs and access to broadband telecommunication services.

. Establishing a new National Agriculture Research Program Office to coordinate the programs and activities of USDA's research agencies to minimize duplication and maximize coordination at all levels and creates a competitive grants program.

. Protecting and sustaining our nation's forest resources.

. Making important new investments in renewable energy research, development and production in rural America.

The Committee also approved language that will finally allow full implementation of Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling for meat in the Farm Bill. This language is a victory for consumers who overwhelmingly support the program. It includes three categories of labeling, one that indicates product was born, raised and slaughtered in the United States; one that indicates that product was not exclusively born, raised and slaughtered in the U.S.; and one that includes products entirely from other countries. For ground meat, products can be labeled with a list of countries where product may have originated.

During the Committee's business meeting held July 17-19, the Agriculture Committee considered H.R. 2419 and an "en bloc" amendment that included additional important programs that the Committee wants to include in the Farm Bill but that require additional funding.