Farm Bill 2008
In June the Congress voted to overturn the President’s veto of the 2008 farm bill, which Senator Dorgan strongly supported. Officially known as the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, this farm bill accomplishes many of the goals Sen. Dorgan set out to achieve at the onset of its consideration in early 2007.
This farm bill reauthorizes the major provision of the 2002 farm bill safety net that have worked so well over the past five years providing counter-cyclical support for farmers when they need it but also allowing farmers the freedom to make their own planting decision without relying on the farm program too heavily.
This bill will increase the target price and loan rates for wheat, barley, soybeans, oilseeds, and many of the other crops we grow in the Northern Great Plains, so that farm program support levels more accurately reflect current market realities.
The farm bill includes a Permanent Disaster Program funded at $3.8 billion. Senator Dorgan fought long and hard for inclusion of this disaster program so farmers and ranchers can know that when disaster strikes, help is on the way.
Country-of-Origin-Labeling will finally be fully implemented by September of this year, thanks to an agreement between stakeholders that was included in the bill.
This farm bill makes great strides in the area of energy, helping farmers play a role in the solution to our energy crisis through support for on-farm energy production.
Significantly, it marks a shift in government support from corn-based ethanol to other next-generation advanced biofuels – most importantly cellulosic ethanol which holds great potential for North Dakota farmers and economy.
The bill also includes the “Close the Enron Loophole Act” which Senator Dorgan long championed, giving more authority to the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to prevent excessive energy market speculation.
On Conservation, the bill provides $5.2 billion in new budget authority for incentives to protect our nation's natural resources for future and current generations through existing programs that North Dakotans already know and use like the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), among others.
This bill also contains a full authorization of the Rural Economic Area Partnership (REAP) zones through 2012. These organizations help bring economic activity and community development to the areas they serve.
This farm bill will make significant increases in the area of nutrition, investing an additional $10.361 in nutrition efforts like food stamps, the school lunch program, and local food banks.
While Sen. Dorgan would have liked to see more significant progress in the area of payment limit reform, he recognizes the steps this bill makes in cutting off payments to some of the wealthiest of farmers in the country.
This farm bill will be good for farming families in North Dakota and across the country.
