Farmers Union Urges Completion
Of New Farm Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. Dur
ing a Capitol Hill news confer
ence and in letters to senators,
the National Farmers Union
(NFU) board of directors recently
urged farm bill completion to re
duce the need for another year of
emergency ad hoc programs.
“If a farm bill is delayed an
other year, producers will not
only need to rely on emergency
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economic assistance from Con
gress for 2002, but will also face
the 2003 planting season with
little certainty, since most pro
ducers will make planting deci
sions well before the end of the
year and before a farm bill will
be enacted,” stated the letter to
senators signed by the
26-member NFU board.
The Federal Agriculture Im
provement and Reform Act of
1996 provided no safety net for
agricultural producers to cushion
the erratic swings in the market.
In answer to depressed commodi
ty prices, declining market op
portunities and increased pro
duction costs. Congress has
approved billions of dollars in
economic assistance for the past
five years.
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“Without an adequate farm
program in place this year, Con
gress will again have to provide
emergency economic assistance
for farmers next year,” said NFU
President Leiand Swenson.
“Though desperately necessary
to recover from economic losses,
emergency payments provide
little security for lenders when
producers seek credit opportuni
ties for fiiture crops.”
Swenson represented the NFU
board at a Capitol Hill news con
ference at which Senate Majority
Leader Tom Daschle and Senate
Agriculture Chairman Tom
Harkin, D-lowa, discussed the
proposed farm bill. The NFU
board was joined by representa
tives of American Farm Bureau
Federation and 30 other farm
groups.
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USD A Announces
$384 Million In Funding
WASHINGTON, D.C. Agri
culture Secretary Ann M. Vene
man recently announced the re
lease of more than $384 million
to 41 states and Puerto Rico to
help rural communities improve
public schools, invest in road im
provement projects, and
strengthen forest stewardship
programs.
“Investing in schools and edu
cation, particularly in our rural
communities, is a high priority
for this Administration,” said Ve
neman. “These funds will allow
local communities valuable re
sources so they can determine
their needs and make the proper
investments to help our children
and strengthen rural areas.”
Veneman, who was joined by
Sen. Larry Craig, Idaho; Sen.
Ron Wyden, Ore.; and Sen. Gor
don Smith, Ore., at a press con
ference announcing the funds,
said many states will benefit from
this program, which was author
ized as part of the Secure Rural
Schools and Community Self-De
termination Act. Oregon will re
ceive $154 million; California,
$65 million; Idaho, nearly $23
million; and Washington, ap
proximately $44 million.
Veneman announced that over
the next six years, USDA,
through the Forest Service, will
provide another $l.l billion for
schools and rural communities in
addition to the $384 million re
leased Thursday. These pay
ments are the first issued under
the new legislation, which returns
dollars to states with national for
ests.
“This historic legislation helps
provide important solutions to
some of the challenges facing
rural communities,” she said.
“States and local counties will
make the decision on how the
USDA Conservation Program
To Protect N.Y. Drinking Water
WASHINGTON, D.C. Agri
culture Secretary Ann M. Vene
man recently announced that the
USDA is partnering with the city
of Syracuse, N.Y., to safeguard
the city’s drinking water through
a $900,000 Conservation Reserve
Enhancement Program.
The program’s focus is the
Skaneateles Lake, one of the 11
Finger Lakes of central New
York and the source of unfiltered
drinking water for the 240,000
residents of Syracuse.
“This conservation program
will preserve the lake’s purity,
benefiting local residents, tourists
and the farming community,”
said Veneman.
The Syracuse CREP will pay
farmers to remove from agricul
tural production up to 1,000
acres of cropland or marginal
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dollars will be spent. For exam
ple, they can buy new books, re
pair or expand schools or hire
more teachers to help improve
the education opportunities for
our nation’s children.”
Based on legislation passed in
1908,25 percent of Forest Service
revenues from timber sales, graz
ing, recreation, some mineral use
fees and other land use receipts
go to states that host national for
ests. However, the Secure Rural
Schools and Community Self-De
termination Act of 2000 gave
counties the option of staying
with the traditional payment
plan or choosing a predictable
payment based on the average of
the state’s three highest pay
ments between fiscal years 1986
and 1999.
Nationwide, counties have
seen a significant drop in pay
ments over the last decade under
the traditional plan due to the
significant decline in timber har
vesting on national forests. The
2000 legislation stabilizes pay
ment levels near to their historic
high for six years. About 75 per
cent of the 700-plus counties
elected to use the new formula,
thus receiving increased funding.
In addition, the new legislation
authorizes local resource advisory
committees to give communities
choice in funding forestry stew
ardship projects. To date, 49 re
source advisory committees have
been established.
Counties that receive $lOO,OOO
or more under the new legislation
are required to allocate 15 to 20
percent of their funding for in
vestments in county projects or
for forest projects that implement
stewardship objectives to en
hance forest ecosystems or both.
pastureland that feed the lake.
The program will reimburse pro
ducers for installing and restor
ing riparian buffers that keep
sediment, nutrients and pollu
tants from entering the lake. The
buffers will protect water quality
and provide wildlife habitat for a
wide ai ray of wildlife species, like
trout and pheasant. Through
these and other efforts the city is
taking, Syracuse hopes to be able
to continue to comply with safe
drinking water standards while
avoiding building a costly filtra
tion system.
The total cost of the program
is expected to reach $900,000
over 15 years. Of that amount,
$650,000 will come from USDA
and $250,000 from the city of
Syracuse.
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