Western Producer reporter Sean Pratt attended the Commodity Classic, a gathering of 4,000 American wheat, corn and soybean growers in Florida last week, to see what Canadian farmers might expect from their southern neighbours.
TAMPA, Florida – U.S. farm groups are bracing for dramatic cuts to the safety net programs that have been the bane and envy of their Canadian neighbours.
The 2002 farm bill expires this year. A new five-year program is set to begin in 2008.
Farm groups are fighting to maintain the existing level of subsidies but feel they are facing an uphill battle convincing government.
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U.S. agriculture secretary Mike Johanns issued a proposal in January calling for a $10 billion cut in subsidy levels.
Congress is expected to release its preliminary budget for the 2007 farm bill program in March. It bases future spending needs on current expenditures.
That doesn’t bode well for U.S. farmers, said Dale Schuler, who was president of the National Association of Wheat Growers at the time of the conference.
“Prices have been up, so farm bill spending has been down considerably from what was approved in the 2002 bill,” he said.
Growers realize they will have a tough time convincing Washington’s purse string holders that they require a bigger safety net, especially given the current overall economic climate.
“The U.S. federal budget has some strains on it right now, so getting the funding up to where we think it needs to be is going to be a heavy lift,” said Schuler.
Steve Pigg, chair of a National Corn Growers Association public policy group, said the preliminary baseline spending estimate released by Congress is a bit of a jaw-dropper.
“We’re looking at something in the order of a 40-plus percent decline in the amount of money that would be available to commodity programs over the next 10 years,” he said.
Commodity groups will attempt to narrow that gap through intense lobbying over the summer, but it will be a tough sell in an environment where prices are higher than they’ve been in years.
“Dale Schuler is absolutely right. It is an uphill struggle,” said Pigg.
The pitch commodity groups plan to take to Washington is that agriculture is being relied upon to do a lot more these days in terms of conservation and energy security. They will contend that the added responsibility should be accompanied by increased safety net funding.
“I think that’s a valid argument,” said Ken McCauley, president of the National Corn Growers Association.
Schuler agreed. He also noted that more farm groups want a piece of the subsidy pie, such as the fruit and vegetable growers.
“If they add programs in, we feel they need to add additional funding.
“We’re pushing hard for Congress to restore the funding at least to the 2002 levels,” he said.
Other groups are sending what they consider a more pragmatic message.
The American Soybean Association has released a proposal that amounts to a $20 billion decrease in baseline spending over the next 10 years.
Schuler realizes the end result could be something closer to what the soybean industry is acknowledging, a substantial decrease in the farm bill budget.
“It’s quite possible,” he said.
