A3o—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 23,1981
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The
Senate Committee on Agriculture,
Nutritionrand Forestry last week
approved an omnibus four-year
Farm Bill, and ordered it reported
to the full Senate for action
Senator Jesse Helms, chairman
of the Committee (R-N.C.),
praised the 17 Senators on the
Committee for their work on the
bill, which included more than a
month of hearings followed by two
weeks of drafting the bill.
He said, “While we have had
differences, this bill reflects an
effort to reach a bi-partisan
solution to our many farm
problems. Our compromise does
not go as far toward market
orientation as did my original
proposal, but it does provide a
mechanism for farmers to obtain
their profits in the marketplace.”
The Congressional Budget office
estimates that the farm bill
package will cost about $7 billion
over the four-year period.
Senate action on the bill is ex
pected to start about the last week
in June. The 1981 Farm Bill is
designed to improve on and refine
the provisions in the 1977 Farm
Bill, which expire September 30.
Helms pointed out, “This is the
first time in the history of the
Agriculture Committee that we
have had to write a Farm Bill
under severe budget constraints.
In the past, the sky has been the
limit.”
He said, “This has made our task
that much more difficult.”
The two weeks of legislative
drafting called “mark-up” of
the Farm Bill came to an end with
a vote on a revised compromise on
the commodity programs. The
compromise 'reduced the level of
budget outlays on many of the
programs, which had gone con
siderably over budget guidelines in
earlier considerations.
Helms had 'earlier told the
Senators, “We have marched up
the hill (on spending), and now
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Helms says “pleased” with conservation
we’re going to have to march back
down again.”
Helms had special words- of
praise for Senator Walter “Dee”
of KeiTtucky, the
ranking Democrat on the Com
mittee, for his cooperation and
assistance in drafting „ the
legislation.
In commenting on some of the
maior decisions reached by the
Committee, Helms - said he was
especially pleased to have a strong _
resource conservation title; a food
stamp program that incorporates
much-needfid measures for
eliminating fraud, abuse and
soaring costs; and commodity
programs that contain im
provements which make them
more effective and should allow for
greater opportunities for profits by
farmers.
The entire package of con
servation proposals in the Helms
Farm BUI (S. 884) was accepted by
the Committee, along with some
additional provisions offered by
other Committee members.
FToposhls adopted included
A special Areas Conservation
Program designed to target
technical assistance and funds at
localities having the most severe
soil and water conservation
problems.
A program to permit the SoU
Conservation Service to use
volunteers in conservation work.
Permanent authority in law
for the popular Resource Con
servation and Development
Program.
Amendments to the Small
Watershed Program to speed up
the approval process for local soil
and water conservation measures,
thereby saving local sponsors time
and money.
Senator Helms said, “These
conservation initiatives / are
designed to strengthen Soil and
Water Conservation Districts’
local programs, protecting our
valuable soil and water resources
that are so vital to producing food
and fiber, and maintaining a
Legislative Roundui
title, reports on Farm
favorable balance of trade. In
recent years we’ve tended to
ignore these problems, and I
welcome the opportunity to return
to basics in soil and water con
servation ”
In the commodity programs, for
wheat, feed grains, upland cotton
and rice, target prices and loan
authority are continued for an
additional four years.
Minimum target prices are
specified for each year of the bill,
with discretionary authority in the*
Secretary of Agriculture to adjust
upward according to change in the
cost of production.
A crop-specific acreage
reduction program is authorized to
replace the current set-aside
authority, and a land diversion
program is provided.
Minimum target prices and loan
'levels are:
Wheat; target prices starting
at $4.20 per bushel in 1982 and
increasing 20 cents a year through
1985; loan levels of $3.50 per
bushel.
Feed Grains: target prices for
com starting at $2.80 per bushel in
1982 and increasing 15 cents a year
through 1985; loan levels of $2.60
per bushel for com. The Secretary
shall set comparable levels for
other feed grains.
Cotton: target prices of 71
cents per pound for 1982, 76 cents
for 1983, 85 cents for 1984, and 93
-cents for 1985; loan levels of 55
cents per pound.
\ '
Rice: target prices of $11.23
per hundredweight for 1982, $12.14
for 1983, $12.70 for 1984, and $13.50
for 1985; loan level based on 75
percent of the target price.
Other provisions of the omnibus
bill include:
Dairy: price support for milk
at between 75 and 90 percent of
parity, with a 70 percent minimum
if Government costs or purchases
of dairy products are projected to
exceed certain levels; and semi
annual adjustment on April 1 if
necessary to maintain support
price at 70 percent.
Peanuts: loan levels of $631,
for quota peanuts the four years; a
poundage quota of 1.3 million tons
per years; and maintaining‘the
national acreage allotment at 1.6 -
million acres.
Soybeans: loan level based
on 75 percent-of recent average
soybean market prices, but not
less than $5.02 per bushel.
<x P.L. 480: an extension of the
Food-For-Peace Program for an
additional four years; elimination
of the spending “cap” on market
development, and an increase in
the “cap” on humanitarian aid.
V Embargo Relief: a strong
provision to offer financial rehefto
agricultural producers through
either, loans or payments if an
embargo is imposed on only
agriculture without including other
segments of the economy.
Sugar: a price support
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program for domestically grown
sugar beets and sugar cane with a
nonrecourse loan program ef
fective Oct. 1,1982, at a level of not
less than 19.6 cents per pound for
raw sugar cane; loans could not be
available before the beginning of
the fiscal year and would have to
mature before the end of that fiscal
year
Export Credit Revolving
Fund; establishes authority for
such a fund to be used to finance
export sales of U.S. agricultural
commodities.
On food stamp legislation which
was ordered reported as a
separate bill. Helms said he was
especially pleased that these
provisions, which he has sought for
sometime, were included:
A J “workfare” program under
which localities can require able
bodied, working-age recipients of
food stamps to perform public
service work in return for their
stamps.
Eliminating striking workers
from the food stamp roles.
Increase of penalities for
those committing fraud, including
permanently eliminating such
offenders from the food stamp
program after the third offense.
An income ceiling for food
stamp recipients at 130 percent of
the federal poverty level.
A tightening of program rules
to include such things as the
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