"We have to be in this together," said Terry Wolters, President of the National Pork Producers Council. To get a Farm Bill that works for all farmers, he said commodity groups need to come together and speak with one voice.
The Farmfest forum on the next Farm Bill showed that the interests of the major groups do overlap.
Eden Valley farmer Tom Haag represented corn producers. He is currently serving as First Vice President of the National Corn Growers Association. He is also on the Minnesota Corn Growers Association board of directors.
Regardless of election outcomes this November, the next U.S. Congress will have many freshmen with no prior exposure to farm policy and legislation. Educating them about the value of the Farm Program is a top priority, Haag said.
"Our number one priority is crop insurance," Haag said. "It's a private-public entity. It works. Don't mess with it. Crop insurance is a good safety net."
Though farmers have had a boost in income over the last several seasons, it would be a mistake to reduce the safety net now, according to Rob Larew, president of the National Farmers Union.
"We need a program that can truly cover us and provide a safety net over the next five to seven years. We don't yet know what the challenges are going to be tomorrow," Larew said.
Haag said corn growers would like to see a more nuanced, scientific evaluation of energy policy, which he argued would show the continued value of ethanol. Elected officials should strengthen support for ethanol and other federal laws and programs in the Farm Bill, he said.
"Ethanol has been very important to corn growers in the last 25 years," Haag said. But it also greatly benefits the public in ways not always understood. "In corn, we have one of the best crops (for reducing greenhouse gases), in terms of taking carbon out of the atmosphere, adding oxygen. This becomes clear when analysts use scientific data we have today, and not numbers from 25 years ago."
Car companies have developed high-compression engine technology tuned to the advantages of 30% ethanol-blended gasoline, Haag noted.
"E30 used in high-energy engines can compete with and outscore electric vehicles," Haag said.
Panelists also discussed the strategy inherent in a good Farm Bill.
"The Nutrition Title is a valuable part of the Farm Bill," said George Goblisch, an At-Large Member of the Executive Committee of the American Soybean Association. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other nutrition programs comprise about three-quarters of the Farm Bill budget. "Without the nutrition factor in the Farm Bill, we would not have the votes to pass the Farm Bill."
"At American Soybean Association, we really want to increase the funding for the Farm Bill," Goblisch said. "We really think this is the right time to increase funding, both on the nutrition side and (for the commodity title)."
Members of the U.S. Senate recently negotiated a major spending bill to address climate change. The bill includes $20 billion to help farmers reduce agricultural contributions to greenhouse gases. The bill has now passed the House and has been signed into law by President Biden.
Scott VanderWal, vice president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, worried that placing a major item of agricultural spending outside of the Farm Bill could water down the next Farm Bill, or even cause Congress to shelve the bill entirely. He also asserted that only voluntary conservation programs can achieve long-term success.
Livestock producers "don't have many asks" in the commodity title of the Farm Bill, according to Don Schiefelbein, president of the National Cattleman's Beef Association. What animal agriculture needs from government is a balanced approach, he said. "There is a major foreign disease risk we are facing. If we don't have disease management lined out, (losses) could get extreme. ... We would also like to see LRP -- Livestock Risk Protection. To protect against a real price break."
Corn and soybean producers agreed that the livestock industry is a great customer of crop producers. Including support for the livestock industry in the next Farm Bill would strengthen all farmers.
More funding would also allow increased participation in conservation programs, according to Ian Cunningham, second vice president of the National Association of Conservation Districts.
"Working Lands programs like EQIP and CSP" are underfunded, he said. Many farmers spend their own money on conservation, but increasing the support in the next Farm Bill would bring those methods to millions more acres of environmentally sensitive land.
"Unfortunately, on a national scale, only 30% of applications receive funding," Cunningham said. "In Minnesota, it's only one in five. As Congress works to design the 2023 Farm Bill, we need to bolster ability of farmers to implement conservation."
Categories: Minnesota, Government & Policy