DALLAS, Texas – Big changes are looming in U.S. farm policy.
A new farm bill will be passed into law this year, an event that occurs once every five years.
But this year’s farm bill debate is decidedly different, taking place in a political environment dominated by talk of budget-cutting and reduced spending.
As more than 900 wheat farmers gathered here last week for the annual convention of the National Association of Wheat Growers, the mood could best be described as uncertainty mixed with a healthy dose of trepidation.
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Will farmers be able to maintain the complex system of price supports and acreage programs they’ve come to depend on? What is the future of the Export Enhancement Program and other export subsidies? What kind of conservation requirements will be imposed on farmers and how will they be paid for it?
There are a lot more questions than answers. The only thing that seems certain is that the drive to cut the federal budget will change farm programs, perhaps dramatically.
“We know there will be profound changes in our domestic policies, including agriculture,” said NAWG executive director Carl Schwensen, adding it’s all money driven.
“On the fringes there is some philosophical debate going on, but the driving force is the budget.”
The scope of the changes will be determined by those yet-to-be made budgetary decisions. Depending on how serious the new Republican-dominated Congress is about slashing spending, even fundamental support programs like the target price/deficiency payment system could come under assault.
“It could be that the amount of money available to agriculture won’t allow that program to operate,” said Schwensen. “There may have to be a different program but we don’t know about that now and we can’t predict anything.”
NAWG members were told by a senior agriculture department official to expect some tough questions as they lobby legislators on farm programs.
“This year we definitely are not looking at business as usual in the drafting of farm policy and programs, ” said under secretary of agriculture Gene Moos. “Questions have been raised which challenge us to address the underlying assumptions of our farm policy.”
He said the longstanding consensus that the government should be involved in agriculture as a matter of national interest may no longer be present in the new Congress.
Moos told reporters later that farmers were among those who voted for massive change in last fall’s Congressional elections and now they have to be ready to deal with the results.
He said farm groups like NAWG have been slow to respond: “The message we’re getting from American agriculture is still unclear as to what they expect from government in farm policy.”
Farmers uncertain
Uncertainty over the new political reality in Washington was evident.
Nebraska farmer Doug Schmale said he expects “a lot of churning” in Congress, but doesn’t expect sweeping changes in basic programs like income supports, at least partly because the farm bill is such a massive and complex piece of legislation.
“Just by sheer inertia, you don’t turn that thing on a dime and head in another direction,” he said. “I believe there will still be a system of price supports in this country, probably a substantial system.”
But Jay Hansen of Idaho said now is the time for NAWG itself to abandon some of its old policies and look for new ways of doing things instead of simply “tinkering” with the same old programs.
