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UPDATE:
Senate Passes Farm Bill Conference Report
Sen.
Salazar Hails Farm Bill Passage, Opening a New Chapter for Rural America
and Helps Solve Colorado Problems
WASHINGTON, DC –
On March 2, 2005, in his maiden speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate,
Senator Ken Salazar vowed to fight for the nation’s rural communities,
like those in the San Luis Valley, where his family has farmed and ranched
for five generations. He called these communities a ‘Forgotten America’
because Washington, DC has for too long ignored and neglected the priorities
of farmers, ranchers and rural families.
Today, Senator Salazar hailed
the veto-proof Senate passage of the 2008 Farm Bill (The Food, Conservation,
and Energy Act of 2008) conference report, by a vote of 81 to 15, as
a “new chapter” for the 50 million Americans living in rural communities.
Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the conference report
by a veto-proof margin of 318 to 106.
As a member of the Senate
Agriculture Committee, Senator Salazar played a key role in setting
the direction of the Farm Bill, which makes much-needed investments
in rural communities; helps deliver safe and healthy food to family
dinner tables; provides fresh fruits and vegetables to kids at school;
improves stewardship of the nation’s land and water; and helps to reduce
U.S. dependence on foreign oil. The bill will now go to the President
for signature.
“Today opens a new
chapter for rural America and rural Colorado. In passing the 2008 Farm
Bill, we are setting a new standard of investment and opportunity for
rural America,” said Senator Salazar. “Nearly three years ago, in my
‘maiden’ speech on the floor of the United States Senate, I called attention
to those rural communities across our country that have been withering
on the vine, forgotten by the policies of Washington DC. Since then
I have worked tirelessly with farmers and ranchers from every corner
of Colorado and with my Senate colleagues to pass a Farm Bill that capitalizes
on the opportunities in rural America.”
“I am disappointed
with the President’s threat to veto this bill. This bill isn’t just
about farmers, its about Colorado’s renewable energy revolution, it’s
about the third grader who, for the first time, will get fresh fruits
and vegetables at lunch and it’s about the mother who wants us to reduce
our dependence on foreign oil. We will all gain from this strong and
balanced Farm Bill and I am hopeful the President signs it soon,” added
Salazar.
Below are key highlights
of the 2008 Farm Bill. For a full list of provisions Senator Salazar
fought to include in the final bill, click
here.
I. FOOD SECURITY
AND KEEPING AMERICANS HEALTHY: 66 percent of the Farm Bill
spending is dedicated to nutrition programs including an increase of
$10.361 billion in to fight hunger in Colorado and the nation.
- Country of Origin
Labeling: The
2008 Farm Bill ensures that consumers will be able to know where the
foods they feed their families come from. Specifically, country-of-origin
labeling will be provided for fruits, vegetables and peanuts.
- Fresh Fruit and
Vegetable Program: Today, over 346,000 Colorado children
eat school lunches. This bill provides $1 billion for the Fresh Fruit
and Vegetable Program, which provides fruits and vegetables to school
children, will be expanded to all 50 states. Colorado was among 15
states that were not eligible for the program and therefore received
$0 through this program under the 2002 Farm Bill. Colorado will now
receive approximately $45 million in federal funds to provide fresh
fruit and vegetables to approximately 80,000 schoolchildren per year.
- Domestic and
International Food Aid Programs: The 2008 Farm Bill will
provide domestic and international food aid programs with the largest
increase in funding among all of the programs in the entire Farm Bill
– with a $10.361 billion increase. These programs consist of 66 percent
of the spending in the Farm Bill.
- Providing Locally
Produced Foods for School Meal Programs: Section 9 of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act encourages institutions
that are participating in the school lunch program to buy “locally
produced foods for school meal programs, to the maximum extent practicable
and appropriate.” The 2008 Farm Bill provides an option for school
meal programs to purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables.
II. GROWING OUR
ENERGY AND RURAL ECONOMIES: The Farm Bill invests over $1 billion
in renewable energy, opening a new chapter of opportunities for rural
America. It spurs innovation in the rural energy sector, thereby advancing
America toward energy independence, protecting our environment and stimulating
rural economies. Senator Salazar believes Colorado is poised to become
the renewable energy capital of the world; this bill will help accomplish
that vision by providing $1 billion to important energy programs and
an additional $403 million in tax incentives for the production of renewable
energy.
- Salazar Cellulosic
Biofuels Tax Provision – The 2008 Farm Bill includes a Salazar-sponsored
$1.01/gallon production tax credit through 2012 for biofuels produced
from renewable cellulosic feedstock. This is a first-of-a-kind incentive
and received broad bi-partisan support in Committee and in the Senate.
Cellulosic biofuels have the potential to displace 3 billion barrels
of oil annually, equivalent to 60 percent of our country’s yearly
consumption of oil in the transportation sector, without affecting
our need for food, feed or fiber. Cellulosic biofuels are made by
releasing the sugars locked in the cell structure of plants – wood,
grasses, dedicated energy crops, agricultural waste, even yard clippings
– and fermenting that sugar into fuel, or by converting the biomass
into a synthetic gas which can be converted to liquid fuels or used
to generate electricity.
- Renewable Energy
for America Program (REAP): Secures $250 million in loans
and grants for REAP, which is a program to assist farmers, ranchers
and rural small businesses in becoming more energy efficient and provides
them assistance to transition to using renewable energy technology
and resources.
- Biomass Research
and Development: Provides $120 million for biomass research
and development.
- Loan Guarantees
for Biorefineries: Invests $320 million in loan guarantees
for biorefineries producing advanced biofuels.
- Biodiesel Education
Program: Reauthorizes the Biodiesel Education Program providing
$5 million in funding for the program over the next five years.
- Investing in
Hydroelectric Power: Ensures that hydroelectric power is
included in the definition of renewable energy to make sure that small,
low-impact hydro projects are included in the list of projects that
will be eligible for loans and grants. Hydroelectric power contributes
7 percent of our energy. DOE estimated in 2006 there are 5,400 potential
small hydro projects in the U.S. which, if developed, could increase
U.S. annual hydro power generation by more than 50 percent.
- Creating grants
for “biochar”: Incorporates a Biochar Research Program as
a new, high-priority research and extension area in the 2008 Farm
Bill. The program is the first federal support program for biochar
research and development in the world, at a time when international
interest in biochar is escalating. The program will help support on-farm
biochar production and utilization systems, which also co-produce
energy for on-farm use. Biochar is an organic carbon product -- a
form of charcoal -- formed from the combustion of forest or agricultural
biomass in the absence of oxygen. When used as a soil amendment, biochar
replaces some fertilizer inputs and boosts crop productivity and soil
fertility, and increases nutrient bioavailability to plants and crops.
It also forms virtually permanent soil carbon pools, and is one of
the only true "carbon-negative" technologies at our disposal
now to help combat climate change. The biochar production process
also creates bioenergy in the form of bio-oils or syngases, which
can be utilized on the farm, or transported for sale elsewhere.
- Biobased Markets
Program: Provides $9 million for the program, which will
authorize eligible producers to label biobased products as a ‘USDA
Certified Biobased Product.’ The program also sets a federal procurement
preference for biobased products to encourage the purchase of products
that are comprised of a greater percent of biobased materials. This
will aid in the development and application of economically useful
bio-based energy products such as small wind and cellulosic biofuels
tax credits.
III. CONSERVATION:
Farmers and ranchers are some of our best stewards of our land and water.
We need programs in the Farm Bill that reward farmers and ranchers not
just for the food, feed, fiber and fuel they supply, but also for the
clean water, clean air and wildlife habitat they provide and protect.
- Environmental
Quality Incentives Program (EQIP): This bill reauthorizes
the working lands program and provides $2.4 billion in new funding.
Specifically, the program provides farmers and ranchers with financial
and technical assistance to plan and implement soil and water conservation
practices. Average annual funding to Colorado ranges between $30-40
million for over 1,000 projects, and this bill will ensure that farmers
and ranchers continue to have access to this essential program.
- Conservation
Reserve Program (CRP): The
bill reauthorizes this important land retirement program, which means
that Colorado will be able to maintain the 2.375 million Colorado
acres that are currently enrolled in CRP. Colorado received $75.3
million in CRP payments in 2006 and this bill will ensure that Colorado
continues to receive these investments in our most environmentally
sensitive lands to protect our land and water.
- Conservation
Security/Stewardship Program (CSP):
This bill will provide $1.1 billion in new funding to enroll nearly
13 million acres per year into this important working lands program.
Colorado received about $2 million in CSP funding under the 2002 Farm
Bill. The Conservation Security/Stewardship Program is a voluntary
stewardship program that provides financial and technical assistance
to promote the conservation and improvement of soil, water, air, energy,
plant and animal life and other conservation purposes on private working
agriculture lands.
- Stopping Absentee
Landowners From Abusing the Conservation Reserve Program –
During multiple Farm Bill listening sessions conducted by Senator
Salazar in Colorado, the issue of CRP payments to absentee landowners
came up. Many communities felt that having idled land with the payments
going out of the region created a hole in local economies and that
some type of preference for local landowners would be appropriate.
Senator Salazar included a provision in the Farm Bill that directs
USDA, to the maximum extent practicable, to consider local land ownership
in awarding contracts, without intruding on the current environmental
benefits index systems.
IV. RURAL DEVELOPMENT:
For too long, Washington’s policies have overlooked the troubles that
are affecting small towns and rural communities across America. Rural
communities are losing population, jobs are hard to come by and family
farmers and small business owners are struggling to make ends meet.
It is time that we make smart investments in our rural communities.
This bill will provide $150 million in mandatory rural development funding
over the next five years.
- Micro Enterprise
Loans – Senator Salazar consistently heard from constituents
that many beginning entrepreneurs in rural areas had difficulty competing
for loans and grants in USDA’s rural development programs. Senator
Salazar helped secure $15 million for the Micro Enterprise Loan program,
which provides technical assistance and small loans and grants to
beginning rural entrepreneurs. Micro Enterprise Loans will provide
incentives for beginning entrepreneurs to open their businesses in
rural communities, thereby creating jobs and decreasing the rates
of rural out migration.
- Investments in
Rural Broadband and Closing the Digital Divide:
Senator Salazar led an effort to invest in the expansion of access
to broadband in rural areas. According to the Government Accounting
Office, only 17 percent of rural households currently have broadband
access to the internet. These investments, loans, loan guarantees
and grants will expand economic and educational opportunities for
rural residents.
- The Farm Bill also provides
$15 million for value-added producer grants to encourage producers
to convert raw commodities into marketable goods and capture that
added value in local communities.
- $120 million for rural
water and wastewater loans and grants.
V. FARM BILL REFORM
- Farm Bill Reform:
Cowboy Starter Kits –
Under current law, owners of land that had once been in agricultural
production but has been subdivided and developed for residential purposes
are nonetheless eligible for commodity payments. A Salazar-Ben Nelson
amendment to the Farm Bill attacked this loop hole by ensuring that
base acres on a farm are reduced when land has 1) been developed for
commercial or industrial use or 2) been sub-divided and developed
into multiple residential units or other non-farming uses or is otherwise
no longer intended to be used in conjunction with a farming operation.
- Eliminating 3
Entity Rule: Under current law, a producer may double his/her
commodity payments by splitting their operations into three entities.
This complex system has allowed individuals to evade existing payment
limits. This legislation eliminates this loophole.
- Requiring direct
attribution of payments to individuals rather than “entities”: Under
current law, farm program payments are not tracked to actual human
beings, but instead go to corporate structures leading to an unclear
picture as to who exactly is receiving what payments. The 2007 Farm
Bill requires every payment to be attributed to an actual person,
ensuring 100 percent transparency. This reform is largely recognized
as one of the most important reforms in the bill.
- Adjusted Gross
Income (AGI) Means Test:
The Farm Bill enacts stricter income limitations for participating
in farm programs. Under the 2002 Farm Bill, a part-time farmer may
not receive payments if their income exceeds $2.5 million. This legislation
eliminates people with over $500,000 non-farm AGI from any farm program.
In addition, the bill eliminates direct payments from any farmer with
over $750,000 AGI.
- Commodity Program
Spending:
Overall, commodity spending in the Farm Bill is reduced, not increased.
In fact, when compared to the 2002 Farm Bill commodity spending goes
down $1.7 billion. Commodity programs in the 2008 Farm Bill will account
for only 0.25 percent of the federal budget, down significantly from
0.75 percent in the 2002 Farm Bill.
VI. PROTECTING COLORADO
– FSA Offices, South Plate River Farmers, Republican River
Farmers and the Colorado River Basin States Salinity Program:
- Protects FSA
Offices: Earlier this year, there were reports that the Farm
Service Agency was proposing to close the FSA offices in Bent, Larimer,
Rio Grande, Conejos and El Paso Counties. Senator Salazar worked to
include a provision in the Farm Bill that ensures all Colorado FSA
office would remain open.
- South Platte
River Well Shut Down Assistance – In
2006, the state of Colorado ordered producers along the South Platte
River to shut down their groundwater wells as a result of a long term
water shortage. In this arid area dry land production is not an option
and producers were left with idle fields full of weeds. The majority
of affected producers reside in Weld County, CO where there is no
opportunity to seek a soft landing by enrolling their lands in CRP.
Senator Salazar worked to include recommendations in the conference
report that recognized that a loss of access to water by agricultural
producers can significantly impact conservation needs and local economies,
and that producers need access to a wide range of conservation programs
to help comply with a state or local law, order, or regulation prohibiting
water use for agricultural production. Therefore, the conference report
recommends that when the Secretary of Agriculture is making any determination
on the applicability of the 25 percent county cropland CRP enrollment
limitation.
- Colorado River
Basin States Salinity Parallel Program: The bill includes
an amendment authored by Senator Salazar, which clarifies the Bureau
of Reclamation’s authority to administer on-farm financial assistance
for salinity control activities in Colorado and throughout the upper
Colorado River Basin. Since the program’s inception, nearly $3.5 million
of on-farm financial assistance has already come through the Colorado
State Conservation Board to improve irrigation efficiency and prevent
deep percolation. An additional $4.8 million is committed to landowners
through contracts for irrigation improvements. The program helps producers
improve irrigation infrastructure by providing incentives to convert
dirt delivery and head ditches to concrete, underground, and gated
pipe systems and to install a variety of sprinkler systems, measuring
and cleaning structures and diversion boxes. Colorado has been able
to fund needed salinity reduction projects that could not have been
funded by EQIP. It has also funded projects to improve wildlife habitat
on private and state lands.
VIII. DISASTER PROGRAM
AND TRUST FUND: Senator Salazar helped lead efforts in the
Senate Finance Committee and Senate Agriculture Committee to create
an agriculture disaster trust fund. The $3.807 billion that Senator
Salazar helped to secure will provide needed assistance to those farmers
and ranchers suffering from disasters. It will also streamline the process
so that aid can be provided in a timely manner to help prevent bankruptcies
and foreclosures. The new disaster trust fund makes several important
reforms to the emergency disaster assistance process:
- It budgets $3.807 billion
for disaster assistance paid for through an allocation of tariffs
versus utilizing emergency spending.
- To receive disaster assistance
farmers must a) carry crop insurance and b) be located in a secretarially
declared disaster county or a contiguous county, or show proof of
an individual loss of at least 50 percent.
- The disaster trust fund
also includes a Livestock Forage Program, which will provide assistance
to ranchers in areas affected by drought. Those payments are based
on the severity of the drought experienced in the rancher’s county.
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