D34-Lancaster Farming Saturday, June 1.1985
Senator Boschwitz says his farm bill would “put cash in farmers’ pockets
WASHINGTON - Senator Rudy
Boschwitz said that his 1985 Farm
Bill would “put cash in farmers’
pockets and make the U.S. the
dominant force in agricultural
markets worldwide. ’ ’
Boschwitz and Senator David
Boren (D-Okla.) explained details
of the bill, called the Family Farm
Protection and Full Production Act
of 1985, at a recent press con
ference in Washington.
The eight-year bill establishes a
direct payment system to protect
the income of farmers while the
U.S. regains its position in world
markets. The bill would represent
a significant shift in U.S. farm
policy.
“My bill has three main goals,”
Boschwitz said. “It protects farm
income during what may be
several tough years ahead for
agriculture. It promotes full
production and lets farmers make
their business decisions based on
economic signals, not government
programs. Lastly, and equally
important, it makes U.S. projects
competitive abroad.”
According to USDA estimates,
the program would result in in
creased exports and higher prices
over five years.
At the center of Boschwitz plan is
a “transition payment” system.
The use of this payment, which is
made directly to farmers based on
previous levels of production of
commodities covered by govern
ment programs, allows the U.S. to
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lower its loan rates and become
more competitive on world
markets, Boschwitz said.
The payment is made on a per
bushel basis and gives farmers
optimum leverage, protects farm
income and allows for competitive
international prices, Boschwitz
said. It is formulated to guarantee
farmers at least as much income
above variable costs as they
received in 1985. The payment is
$1.42 on wheat, $0.94 on com, $0.26
on cotton and $4.26 on rice.
There would be no annual
diversions or set asides. The
payment would be make on the
farmer’s entire crop base.
Boschwitz gave the example of a
farmer with a com base of 200
acres who has a yield of 100 bushels
per acre. The payment ($.94)
would be multiplied by the total
number of bushels (20,000) for a
transition payment of $lB,BOO.
The farmer would be allowed to
produce whatever he wanted on
the 200 acres or to produce nothing.
The transition payments operate
on a sliding scale to target
assistance to family-sized farm
operations.
Between 1987 and 1990, the
payments would be gradually
reduced as the farm economy
shifts toward production which is
more closely in balance with
market demand.
“Current farm programs have
become very expensive and have
served to distort the agricultural
economy of our country,”
Boschwitz said. “It is time for a
new approach.
“This plan provides farmers the
income they need while allowing
them to respond to market signals.
What we have here is a message of
hope for the agricultural sector,”
he said. “Not only does the bill help
farmers, but it gets the entire rural
economy rolling again because it
provides for full production. This is
crucial to the success of this ap
proach.”
In addition to the income
protection provisions, the bill
establishes strong export
promotion programs and a con
servation acreage reserve to
remove fragile lands from
production.
Specific provisions include:
• Establishing a “Green Dollar”
program to increase exports by
using Commodity Credit Cor
poration stocks as a bonus to ex
porters. The Secretary of
Agriculture would accept bids
from exporters for the amount of
Green Dollar Certificates they
would need to complete an export
sale. After the shipment is made,
the exporter would redeem his
Green Dollars by exchanging them
for CCC-owned commodities,
which also must be traded on world
markets.
• Mandating a 20 percent
reduction in CCC stocks each year.
To reduce the stocks, the Secretary
of Agriculture would be free to use
donations or programs that
provide commodities to Third
World countries so they can build
their unport infrastructure.
• Removing government
program benefits for the
production of crops from 30 million
acres of fragile land. The
Secretary of Agriculture would
accept bids on at least 20 million of
these acres to be put into a 10-year
Conservation Acreage Reserve
(CAR). Payments would be made
on this land in •» >umn sum or for up
Rutherford elected
to NMPF executive committee
SYRACUSE, NY - Clyde E.
Rutherford, a dairyman from
Otego, N.Y., has been elected/a
member of the Executive Com
mittee of the National Milk
Producers’ Federation, according
to an announcement by Federation
President Norman Barker.
The Federation represents most
of the nation’s dairy cooperatives
in legislative activities in
Washington, D.C.
Rutherford is president of the
Syracuse-based Dairylea
Cooperative Inc., a post he has
held for the past seven years. He is
also chairman of the New York-
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to five years.
• Creating a transition payment
for dairy producers based on the
present support price of $12.10. The
payment would be set at $1.50 per
hundredweight with a maximum
payment of $20,000 (about 80-90
cows). The CCC purchase price for
dairy products would be reduced to
$10.60.
• Designing an interim program
for the 1985 crop to prevent
overburdening of CCC stocks.
New England Dairy Cooperative
Coordinating Committee;
chairman of the New York State
Dairy Industry Communications
Committee; chairman of the 1985
Northeast Farm Bill Committee;
and a director of the National
Council of Farmer Cooperatives.
With his wife, Jeanette,
Rutherford operated a dairy farm
producing 1.4 million pounds of
milk annually. Their farm was
cited last year as a New York State
“Dairy of Distinction.”
The Rutherfords have two
children, Diane and Nancy, both
students of Syracuse University.
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