1. TAKE ACTION: CALL THE FARM BILL CONFERENCE COMMITTEE!

Sometimes it seems like it will never end, but the Farm Bill really is coming down to its final days. And we still have much to do. The Senate and House versions of the bill must be reconciled in Conference, and the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture put it very well: "because you have won so much, there is much to lose." The Senate version works to improve the environment and create competitive markets for farmers through provisions that the House bill lacks: the Conservation Security Program, more funding for conservation, better provisions in the Wildlife Habitat and Environmental Quality Incentives Programs, the packer ownership ban, the energy title, the subsidy payment limitation... the list goes on. These issues will come down to a fight in the Conference Representatives and Senators NEED TO HEAR that America wants provisions for the environment and family farmers. PLEASE CALL TODAY!

You can find all the information you need and contact numbers at: http://www.familyfarmer.org/confer.html

After months of difficult deliberations on the farm bill the Senate and the House now square off in conference committee to decide the final design of a Farm Bill that will direct agriculture for the next five years. The House version which passed last year is being attacked for lack of conservation and for continuing subsidies to the richest producers, while the Senate plan is being attacked for spending too much money in the early years. In the midst of this flurry, where does the President stand? Last week President Bush chided the Senate, saying in the New York Times he was "disappointed that the Senate-passed bill doesn't get the job done."

Yet, in October of last year the president came out against the House bill. The White House's official position was that it would worsen overproduction and jeopardize markets abroad. So where does the White House stand? No one seems to know. In fact the White House has remained notoriously absent from making suggestions on the Farm Bill even though it is probably the single most important legislation to the constituency that voted President Bush into office - rural America.

See the White House Statement on the House Farm Bill at: www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/sap/107-1/HR2646-h.html

3. "NEW YORK TIMES" HIGHLIGHTS FARM BILL'S SWEEPING CONSERVATION MEASURES

The 2002 Farm Bill "could become the most sweeping environmental legislation since the Clean Air Act of 1990," according to an article last week in the "New York Times." The article points out that the Senate version of the Farm Bill increases conservation spending by $22 billion over the next decade, and also provides twice the administration's request for nutrition programs. By contrast, the House bill provides nearly $1 billion per year more for commodity payments than the Senate version. The article goes on to highlight how geography and each state's commodity base influenced particular votes more than political party, as exemplified by the votes on conservation measures, payment limitations, the packer ownership ban and the dairy program. The article also points out that new conservation programs (such as the Conservation Security Program) are meant to address the inequities in the current agriculture subsidy system by allowing all producers to participate, including those not eligible for commodity payments.

The full article is available at: http://query2.nytimes.com/search/abstract?res=F30F12F73C5B0C778D DDAB0894DA404482

When the Environmental Working Group published their website showing that the richest producers received the lion's share of federal farm commodity payments, they raised quite a stir in farm communities. Some producers, furious that their finances were aired in public, claimed it was an invasion of their privacy. Other producers were more angry with the fact that so few farmers received such a large share of the money. (See at: www.ewg.org).

As Congress has moved to improve farm policy one important change supported by family farm groups is "capping" the limits of commodities subsidies to direct them towards those more in need. Responding to this problem, the Senate passed a proposal called the Grassley-Dorgan Amendment that would limit the amount any single producer could receive to $250,000.00 and $270,000 for couples As the Farm Bill goes to conference this amendment will certainly come under attack, and folks are being asked to call their Representatives and urge them to support a letter by Representatives Bereuter and Pomeroy asking the conference committee to support the Dorgan-Grassley payment limitations. To find out who your representative is and how to contact them go to: http://www.vote-smart.org/index.phtml.

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