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| Farm Programs Need Simpler Rules |
| 7/14/2010 |
Jerry Hagstrom DTN Political Correspondent
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Agriculture Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services Jim Miller on Tuesday joined the call of House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., for a simplification of farm programs.
Farm programs have gotten way too complicated, according to the undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Ag Services, stressing out farmers and not delivering the benefits expected. (DTN file graphic by Steve Negus)In a speech to the American Soybean Association board, Miller said, "We may have gotten to the point that the programs are so complex we don't get the benefits we want." Peterson has said that adding farm program on top of farm program over the years has made the system too complicated.
Only 131,000 producers farming 34 million acres have signed up for the new Average Crop Revenue Election program known as ACRE, Miller noted. Many producers and landowners have resisted the ACRE program because it requires farmers to give up their traditional farm program benefits and sign up for the new program for the life of the 2008 farm bill. He also noted that commodity prices have been high enough that USDA does not expect to make significant ACRE payments based on the 2009 crops, while the situation for 2010 is unclear. Miller said ACRE does not seem to work in all parts of the country. "Is ACRE appropriate for all parts of the country? Should it be?" Miller asked.
The new permanent disaster program, Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments, known as SURE, he noted, makes payments late and does not seem to work in some parts of the country. But he also noted there may be value in a permanent disaster program because passing weather-related disaster programs on an ad-hoc basis will continue to be difficult in the current fiscal environment. The last farm disaster bill took three years to pass, and after that payments were delayed.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., is pushing a $1.5 billion disaster package that is now stalled in a tax-extenders bill the Senate has been unable to pass.
Miller said he was pleased that Risk Management Agency officials had finished a new standard reinsurance agreement and that all 16 crop insurance companies had signed up for it by the deadline on Monday. He said he believes the agreement will ensure the long-term viability of the program while allowing the administration to make the case that it is a good investment for the taxpayer. Miller said RMA will evaluate the rating methodologies that determine crop insurance premium rates.
Miller also said the United States is on track to export $104 billion in agricultural products this year, the second highest amount in history. The agriculture surplus of exports over imports is expected to be $28 billion, he said.
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