Farm Bill -- Debate Begins at 3PM today: Wednesday, July 25

We urge you to ask your Member of Congress to vote NO! on the Kind Amendment. Our reasoning is very similar to the American Corn Growers -- see excerpt below. In addition, we would add that House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Ranking Member Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) have worked closely together -- carefully sorting the issues out in a bi-partisan manner, so that the Farm Bill begins reform, taking strong steps toward helping our nation become energy independent, while investing in new opportunities for nutrition, conservation and support for both organic growers and specialty crops.

In a letter to Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI), ACGA commended the initiative and leadership exhibited by the Congressman for his work on the farm policy debate this year but ... asked Kind to consider supporting the Food From Family Farms Act (FFFA) to provide:

• A return to a price floor mechanism for program crops,
• A return to a Farmer Owned Grain Reserve (FOR), and
• Authority to help farmers migrate a portion of the land currently being used to grow those crops usually produced in excess to the production of alternative, dedicated energy crops.

“The price floor contained in FFFA will save tens of billions of dollars in direct subsidies to farmers in exchange for providing them the opportunity to receive a fair price from the market,” explained Larry Mitchell, Director of Government Affairs for ACGA. “The FOR will provide for national food security, national energy security and a safety valve for the nation’s consumers, livestock producers, and biofuels sector. Helping farmers migrate to growing dedicated alternative energy crops will help mitigate over production of some crops and help the nation move toward energy independence.”

ACGA concluded, “The savings achieved with the FFFA will provide additional funding for conservation programs as well as renewable energy initiatives, nutrition needs and rural development. ...”