Senate committee approves embargo impact bill
WASHINGTON, D.C -
The Senate Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry Wednesday ap
proved a seven-point
legislative package con
ferring additional authority
on the Carter Administration
to soften the impact of the
Russian gram embargo on
farmers
The bill would increase
loan rates for wheat and feed
grains placed in the farmer
held grain reserve and
permit the secretary of
agriculture to implement
“set aside” programs for
those crops this year to
reduce gram plantings
The Committee combined
into one omnibus bill a
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variety of proposals drawn
largely from several
separate bills that have been
introduced in the Senate in
response to President
Carter’s January 4
suspension of agricultural
exports to Russia
The legislation includes
provisions for a food security
reserve program similar to
legislation strongly sup
ported by the Carter Ad
ministration The bill would
authorize the Department of
Agriculture to dispose of
wheat purchased as a result
of the embargo through
emergency food assistance
programs of the PL. 480
program.
Embargoed corn pur-
m FAWN MILLS
" W.E. MANIFOLD & SON
SATURDAY,
APRIL 19, 1980
10 A.M. to 3 P.M.
Fawn Grove, Pa.
chased by the Department
could be sold as a feed stock
for fuel alcohol production at
a “fuel conversion price”
but not less than the gram
reserve release level,
currently $2 63 per bushel
The Agriculture Com
mittee previously has ap
proved four other bills,
relating to the embargo One
of these, to extend the life
and increase lending
authority of the farm
economic emergency loan
program, has been approved
by a House-Senate Con
ference Commitee The
Senate agreed to the con
ference bill Wednesday
A second bill, which opens
on a limited basis the far
mer-held grain reserve to
producers of 1979 corn and
wheat who did not par
ticipate in last year’s set
aside program, was also
approved by the Senate
Wednesday
. A floor amendment was
added to the bill to raise the
loan ceiling for farm storage
loans from $50,000 to
$lOO,OOO The other two bills
are awaiting Senate floor
consideration
In addition to the food
reserve the omnibus bill
includes provisions to
Require the secretary of
agriculture to increase loan
levels on wheat to not less
than $3 30 per bushel from
$2.50 and on corn to not less
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 5,1980—C43
than $2 25 per bushel from
$2 10 for grain going into the
farmer-held reserve The
increases would be effective
for the 1979-81 crop years but
would not apply to the
regular price support loans
made to producers outside
the reserve program The
provision would also require
that interest charges to
farmers be waived on the
reserve loans
Require the Commodity
Credit Corporation to pur
chase not less than four
million tons of wheat and up
to 10 million tons of com to
help shore up gram prices
that have been adversely
affected by the suspension of
sales to Russia The
purchases must be at prices
not less than the averages
prevailing for the five-day
period preceding the em
bargo and must be carried
out by June 1, 1980, in the
case of wheat and by Oc
tober 1, 1980 in the case of
corn
Authorize the secretary of
agriculture to implement a
set-aside program for price
supported commodities for
1980 and 1981 if (warranted to
offset the impact of
suspension of commercial
export sales The secretary
had announced last fall,
several months before the
embargo, that there would
be no grain set aside in 1980
He does not have the
authority under existing law
to reverse his decision
Authorize the use of funds,
facilities, and powers of the
Commodity Credit Cor
poration to purchase and
handle agricultural com
modities other than grain
such as poultry that were
under contract for shipment
to Russia at the time the
embargo was announced
Except in the special case
of embargoed grain, prohibit
CCC from disposing of
government-owned wheat
and feed gram stocks when a
farmer-held grain reserve
program is in effect at less
than 5 percent above the
‘‘call” level, the price at
which the farmer must
repay the loan or forfeit his
grain
Require the secretary of
agriculture to carry out a
study of the potential for
expanding U S agricultural
export markets and using
farm exports in obtaining
resources such as oil from
other countries
Except for the increase in
loan rates for grain placed in
farmer-held grain reserve,
the Administration did not
oppose the other provisions
of the omnibus bill
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