Dl4-Lancaster Farming Saturday, April 21,1990
NEWARK, DE The federal
farm bill, which comes up for
renewal or revision every five
years, has implications for all
Americans, not just those in the
agricultural sector.
Environmental conservation
and food stamps are examples of
issues addressed by the 1990 Farm
Bill that have an impact on many
citizens.
Gerald Vaughn, University of
Delaware extension specialist in
resource economics and policy,
said that while most people would
be relatively satisfied with an
extension of the 1985 bill, some
changes may be beneficial.
The Bush administration has
proposed new amendments. Since
Congress will probably not act on
the bill until late summer, Vaughn
says now is the time for the public
to make its sentiments about the
proposals known to legislators.
“Delawareans should pay par
ticular attention to three propos
als: the Standing Disaster Pro
gram, the Farmers Home
Administration proposals, and the
Conservation Reserve Program,”
Vaughn said.
“The proposed Standing Disas
ter Program is part of a safety net
for Delaware farmers that pro
vides for government assistance in
the event of natural disasters,”
said Vaughn. “Under the new
proposals, federal crop insurance
and emergency disaster legislation
would be dropped and replaced by
the Standing Disaster Program.
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However, the Standing Disaster
Program would cover only the
approximately 50 crops that were
previously covered by federal
crop insurance. Emergency disas
ter legislation has covered almost
600 crops in the past.”
Vaughn noted that, under the
Standing Disaster Program, no
farmer in a county would benefit
unless the effects of a disaster
were felt countywide.
“Private insurers may be able
to offer affordable supplementary
crop insurance that will include
crops not covered by the Standing
Disaster Program,’ ’ the economist
said. “In addition, private insur
ance could also cover the losses of
individual farmers in counties
where disaster effects are not
widespread.”
Vaughn advised farmers to
investigate the expense and cover
age of private insurance before
they lend support to the proposed
federal Standing Disaster Pro
gram.
Proposals for the Farmers
Home Administration (FmHA)
also have an impact on a safety net
matter farm credit. Critics
charge that FmHA programs have
been abused and have lost the sup
port of borrowers and taxpayers.
But as the lender of last resort,
FmHA provides credit to farmers
who have difficulty getting afford
able credit from commercial
banks, production credit associa
tions, and other lenders.
“The proposals would tighten
FmHA’s lending practices,”
Vaughn said. “A proposed major
goal would be to provide assis
tance to credit-worthy farmers for
a temporary period rather than
allowing farmers to become
dependent on FmHA assistance.
“Delaware farmers must be
sure that the proposed changes do
not make FmHA assistance so
limited and restricted that the
agency loses its helpfulness,” he
said. “Young farmers in particu
lar often need help to get started
because of the high capital invest
ment required in farming, and the
proposed restrictions could hinder
this.”
The third issue of importance to
Delawareans is the Conservation
Reserve Program. The bill pro
poses to redirect the Conservation
Reserve Program to include pay
ments to farmers for purposes of
improving water quality and pro
tecting wetlands.
For example, farmers could be
paid to retire cropland within
1,000 feet of a well in a state
approved wellhead protection
area. They could also be paid for
existing cropped wetlands and
restorable cropland wetlands.
“Delaware cropland is highly
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vulnerable to groundwater conta
mination,” Vaughn said. “Much
of the state’s cropland was for
merly wet. Cultivating this type of
land depends on an extensive
drainage network established over
the past half century and before.
“Delaware farmers should
carefully study the Conservation
Reserve Program’s potential ben
efits and costs if redirected to
water quality and wetlands protec
tion,” Vaughn said. “Water qual
ity and wetlands protection are
valid needs which agriculture
must help address. Whether the
proposed redirection of the Con
servation Reserve Program is a
good mechanism to help meet
these needs in Delaware is the
Berks Co. Cattlemen’s Association Meeting
READING (Berks Co.) The
Berks County Cattlemen’s Associ-
ation will be holding its quarterly
information meeting today.
The meeting will be held at the
Penn State Berks Campus, begin
ning at 6 p.m. at the Janssen Con
ference Center.
Following a brief directors
meeting, the agenda will include
an update from Penn State faculty
on the planned agricultural curri-
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question farmers should consid
er.”
Food stamp legislation is
always included as part of the
Farm Bill. Vaughn noted that the
1990 proposals underline an effort
to aid homeless people in obtain
ing quality food.
“Many, perhaps most, home
less people qualify for food
stamps, but few participate,” he
said. “Food stamps traditionally
cannot be used to buy food to eat
on site. But under what I term
compassionate proposals, home
less people could use their food
stamps to purchase prepared
meals at authorized shelters, soup
kitchens, and restaurants offering
reduced prices.”
culum which will be offered at the
local Penn State branch.
Durwood Helms, regional
supervisor for the federal Packers
and Stockyards Administration
based in Lancaster, will discuss
USDA’s laws and regulations
affecting beef marketing.
For more information, contact
Sheila Miller, president of the
BCCA, (215) 589-5617.
Sale Ends 4/30/90
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