Georgia farmers share farm bill
concerns with senators

by Jennifer Whittaker

U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Sen. Saxby Chambliss (left) and fellow committee member Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) heard testimony from 13 witnesses regarding farm policy.

U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss and fellow committee member Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) heard testimony from 13 witnesses during a farm bill hearing held in Albany, June 23.

The witnesses detailed their views and answered questions regarding their testimony related to the region’s crops, livestock, forests and the roles of conservation and energy programs.

After hearing testimony from Georgia farmers representing corn, cotton, peanut and soybean producers, Chambliss asked the panel a series of five questions. Chambliss first asked the farmers how they would prioritize farm bill programs and what type of policy they think Congress should implement to comply with the WTO.

“In my opinion, I think we’ll have to look more towards an insurance program rather than counter-cyclical to provide a safety net,” said Mark Detweiler, a soybean grower from Rome, Ga., testifying on behalf of the American Soybean Association.

Citing the recently released USDA farm bill paper that indicates the agency is advocating lower farm support payments in the next farm bill, Chambliss then asked the panel if it is a good idea to target commodity payments to mid-size farmers or to farmers based on risk.

“I don’t think we need to cut payments. We’ve been forced to produce more and more and our risks have increased,” said Ray Cobb, a corn producer from Davisboro, Ga., representing the Georgia Corn Growers.
Chambliss then asked the farmers how dependent their farm operations are on exports and how much they think their farms will depend on exports in the future.

Pictured left to right, Armond Morris, Ray Cobb, Chuck  Coley and Mark Detweiler testified before members of the Senate Ag Committee regarding the upcoming farm bill.

“Exports are very important, and I think we need to be able to get into those markets, but it’s going to take help from the USDA to get into those markets,” Armond Morris, a peanut producer from Ocilla, representing the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation said. “Our exports have decreased significantly since 2002 because of the high loan repayment rate set by USDA.”

Chambliss asked the farmers if they think a revenue-based program could replace current commodity programs as a safety net.

“When you look into a revenue based program each region of the country would have to be considered. The Southeast has crops that require intense management and high costs,” explained Chuck Coley, a cotton producer from Vienna, representing the National Cotton Council.

When Chambliss asked if commodity programs should be cut to increase funding for conservation programs all of the farmers answered no.

Testifying on behalf of the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association, Bill Brim of Tifton said that Georgia producers believe the expansion of state block grants for specialty crops is the most important component to be considered in the 2007 Farm Bill for their crops. These research grants were originally authorized in the Specialty Crop Competitiveness Act of 2004.

“Fruit and vegetable producers have operated successfully without farm programs, but marketing and agricultural research are critical to our success,” Brim said. “The state block grants give us a little bit more flexibility in terms of what we do our research on in a state.”

Tom Thompson, an Eatonton dairyman and Georgia Milk Producers president, warned the senators that Georgia dairy producers are in danger of extinction. “According to trend lines from the Federal Milk Market Administrator’s office in Atlanta, without a change in the rules, there are indications that virtually no dairies will exist in the Southeast in ten years.”

Thompson blamed the demise of Southeastern dairies on Congress’ failure in 1995 to reauthorize the 30-year-old Base-Excess Plan, which allowed producers to produce excess milk when it is not needed. The USDA’s extension of the Southeast Milk Order in 2000 to include Missouri further hurt Southeastern milk producers.

To protect existing Southeastern dairy farmers, Thompson said federal policy needs to 1) reduce the geographical scope

“The primary program that is of concern to small producers is the MILC Program, which is a program that gives assistance when prices drop below a certain level,” Thompson said. “From Georgia’s perspective, we don’t think that we need to have a few mega dairies across the country producing our milk. It’s important to have local milk for local consumption.”

Murray Campbell, chairman of First United Ethanol, LLC., in Camilla, voiced concerns about funding for renewable fuels in the 2007 farm bill. “It is important to note that the incentives in current law are working,” Murray said. “I encourage Congress to stay the course on Renewable Fuels Standard and tax incentives. I also encourage Congress to resist the push to lift the tariff on imported ethanol. Such a move would set the domestic industry back at a time when we are finally turning the corner on success.”

---