2012 Senate Farm Bill Update

2012 Farm Bill Update

The National Press Foundation convened an expert panel yesterday to review the latest on the 2012 Farm Bill, a version of which passed the Senate on June 21. Moderator Loren Duggan, leader of Bloomberg Government’s Congress and Budget Analyst led the discussion which featured Scott Faber, formerly of the Grocery Manufacturers Association and now Vice President for Government Affairs, at the Environmental Working Group, as well as Dale Moore, Deputy Executive Director of Public Policy, American Farm Bureau Federation. Highlights from the discussion are included below, compiled by Christine Gary, MS, from Weber Shandwick's Washington, DC office.

The Senate passed their version of the Farm Bill June 21st. What was in it?

The Senate Farm Bill saves an estimated $23 billion over the next decade. It trades in four farm commodity programs for one, consolidates 23 conservation programs into 13, and stops sources of abuse in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The biggest change is ending direct payments to farmers and emphasizing crop insurance and revenue loss subsidy.

The good news …

·         Grants significant new investments for linking consumers with local farmers, and providing incentives for food stamp recipients to buy more fruits and vegetables.

·         Reduces (by 15%) the taxpayer share of the crop insurance premium for large wealthy farms.

·         Requires that farmers who receive crop insurance subsidies adopt basic protections for environment.

Industry-specific changes …

·         Dairy receives an improved safety net in the form of the Dairy Production Margin Protection Program. This gives coverage against low margins, and higher levels of protection in the form of a supplemental insurance plan. A Market Stabilization Program addresses the imbalance between supply and demand when farm-level margins are poor.

·         The Senate kept the sugar program that protects beet/sugarcane growers and sugar refiners by controlling prices and limiting imports. This is disappointing for consumer groups and food and beverage companies that use sugar. They say it drives up costs and leads to confectioners relocating overseas.

Senate Bill did not debate a couple critical reforms…

·         Does notcap crop insurance subsidies – An amendment limiting subsidies to $40,000 per recipient was not debated.

·         No transparency – An amendment for USDA to disclose names of crop insurance subsidy recipients was not debated.

·         Does notreduce subsidies to crop insurance companies. Some $1.3 billion currently given, not to farmers, but to crop insurance companies to sell policies to farmers. Most companies are located outside USA, in insurance tax havens like Bermuda or Switzerland.

House will begin work on the Farm Bill on July 11. What can we expect?

·         Presumably will propose deeper cuts to anti-hunger programs and conservation programs.

·         Expect a safety net tied to price and not tied to revenue, as the Senate Bill is.

·         House Bill unlikely to reform payment limits, transparency, mean testing, or keep requirements of basic environmental protections.

·         Less support for efforts to promote connection between local farmers and consumers and to promote healthier diets.