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Nebraskans and people in other food producing states should be extremely disappointed that the President failed to mention agriculture or rural America during his State of the Union Address. I am encouraged that we have a new Secretary of Agriculture that won’t overlook us.
When I was Governor of Nebraska I got acquainted with North Dakota's Governor, Ed Schafer, who is now our Nation's 29th Secretary of Agriculture. He has shown himself to be a capable leader and I think he is up to the task of managing a cabinet department that has more than 100,000 employees. He also understands the challenges facing farmers, ranchers, and consumers, and I hope he will be able to provide valuable input and leadership on the farm economy, America's food supply, international trade and conservation programs.
I have visited with Ed about priority issues I hope he addresses immediately.
FARM BILL
Secretary Schafer will play an important role in brokering a deal between Congress and the White House on a new farm bill which should be his first priority. Progress on getting a new farm bill has been disappointing. The Administration has said versions passed by the Senate and the House are unacceptable.
We haven't had a significant working relationship or much assistance from Acting Secretary Chuck Connor in the absence of Mike Johanns who quit the job without having secured an agreement. With Ed Schafer as Ag Secretary my hope is he will be able to become an active partner with Congress to close the gap between what we will do and what the White House will accept.
BEEF TRADE
Secretary Schafer needs to work aggressively with South Korea and Japan to fully open their markets to American beef and bring them into compliance with the OIE guidelines. They have placed unreasonable restrictions on imports of U.S. beef that are not based on accepted science and are unreasonable -- some might say trumped up -- concerns about food safety and Mad Cow Disease. USDA has failed to effectively put a halt to these practices and this has put our beef industry at an unfair disadvantage and costs the U.S. billions of dollars in exports.
PAYMENT LIMITS TO MEGA FARMS
The White House and I do agree about the importance of limiting the size of payments to huge farms that do not need a government subsidy. I supported an amendment in the Senate to insert a cap of $250,000. It had majority support but fell just short of the 60 votes needed to pass. I hope that working with Secretary Schafer we will be able to get a limitation approved.
ENERGY & DROUGHT
Provisions aimed at increasing production of renewable energy must remain in the farm bill, which is now officially called "the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007". I pushed for such a name change to emphasize agriculture's increasing role in America's fight for energy independence.
We also need to keep funding for the National Drought Mitigation Center located at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Secretary Schafer is no stranger to drought and I hope he will have a better response to drought aid than his predecessors.
WHEN?
When will we get a farm bill passed is a good question that we don't have an answer for yet, but with Secretary Schafer at the helm, I hope it will be soon. I know I'll continue fighting for it because it is important for our producers, our rural communities and our national energy security.
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