Washington-The Agricultural Retailers Association and The Fertilizer Institute testified on Sept. 13 before the House Agriculture Committee on current farm bill policy. The Senate and House Agriculture Committees have been holding hearings in preparation for crafting the 2007 Farm Bill. The current farm bill, written and signed into law in 2002, is set to expire next year. ARA, represented by Dennis Craig of W.B. Johnston Grain Company in Enid, Okla., highlighted the ag retail and distribution industry’s recommendations for farm bill policy improvements, such as conservation and environmental stewardship programs, the value of technical service providers in delivering products to farmer customers, and the importance of uniform pesticide applicator standards. ARA is also recommending that the 2007 farm bill include language that promotes the increased production of biofuels and the development of private-public research on the economic impact of the changing transportation systems, and proposes an increase in the hours of service agricultural exemption from 100 to 150 miles. Representing TFI, Alex McGregor, TFI board member and president of The McGregor Company in Colfax, Wash., cited passing energy legislation, enhancing emergency disaster assistance, fully funding agriculture conservation programs, and strengthening federal farm safety nets as key to the new farm bill. “While there are many strengths in the current farm bill…the lack of an effective safety net to cushion through down cycles has meant that record numbers of producers are falling through holes in the netting and drowning in red ink or bailing out before they lose the last of their equity,” McGregor said.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain