 Printer Friendly version  Plain text version |
News in Brief From the President
We have all feared the worst as harvest time approaches. What will yields be like after an unpredictable and erratic growing season? What kind of prices and profit potential will be available after an equally erratic market for most major commodities? As most of you undoubtedly know, on a first-hand basis, our fears have come home to roost. Unfortunately, there are no quick turnarounds predicted either.
Many of you may also be asking what Farm Bureau is doing. Rest assured, your organization has been active on a number of fronts in dealing aggressively with this issue. USDA's recent approval of Loan Deficiency Program payments for corn silage was, in part, the result of a phone call from Allegan County Farm Bureau member Loren Koeman. That announcement will mean a great deal to many Michigan crop and livestock farmers.
In this issue of Michigan Farm News, you will find the recommendations of an American Farm Bureau Federation "Committee on the Farm Economy," which I had the privilege of serving on with nine other state Farm Bureau presidents. These recommendations were sent to both houses of Congress and have become the subject of intense debate in various legislative packages, as each party jockeys for position on this issue prior to the November election. Many of those recommendations are reflected in a $3.9 billion farm-relief package proposed by House and Senate Republicans. The legislative package includes funding for crop-disaster losses, emergency livestock feed assistance and additional direct payments to producers to help offset the loss of export markets.
Projections of a $7.4 billion drop in net farm income this year means Congress needs to move quickly to provide emergency supplemental funding and take immediate steps to expand exports of U.S. agricultural products. Congress must focus on immediate remedies to help producers. Members of Michigan Farm Bureau's Legislative Committee were in Washington, D.C., in mid-September to personally deliver that message to Michigan congressmen.
Immediate approval of fast-track trading authority, for example, would give U.S. farmers a seat at the bargaining table as new trade deals are negotiated. Farm Bureau is also adamant that existing trade deals be honored and that the provisions for free trade be strictly enforced. We are also seeking removal of trade sanctions that have restricted access to 35 countries, effectively destroying 40 percent of our export market potential. Our competitors are only too happy to sell in these markets, and the United States earns the reputation as an unreliable supplier.
Farm Bureau is also urging Congress to avoid abandoning the market-based policies of the 1996 farm bill and to avoid extending the terms of commodity loans or removing the cap from those loans. Extending the loan term simply moves that crop into next year, and we'll end up with two crops in one year. Loan programs were intended to lessen pressure to sell at harvest time and spread sales throughout the marketing year. It is a marketing tool for producers, not an income-support program. Remember also that the loan program is of no value to people who have been hit by disaster and lost a crop.
Despite the urgency of these issues, many of the solutions are falling victim to election-year politics. The House Ways and Means Committee, for example, recently passed the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1998. Farm Bureau supports the legislation because it provides permanent income averaging, which will save farmers $45 million over five years. It also provides a five-year carryback of net operating losses (NOL) for farmers, effective this year, which will save farmers another $81 million over five years by allowing them to apply the current year's losses to five years' previous tax returns and receive a refund of taxes paid. Unfortunately, President Clinton has threatened to veto the bill.
Likewise, House Republicans recently ignored pleas by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, and requests by the American Farm Bureau Federation by rejecting President Clinton's call for $18 billion to replenish the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Withholding IMF funding will jeopardize the economic future of the United States by holding back funds that are needed to rescue ailing economies in Asia and around the globe.
Congressmen need to hear from each of you that the time for action is now. Solutions to help alleviate the current farm-economy crisis are readily available, provided that Congress can see beyond the November election. Don't underestimate the impact those phone calls can have, as we witnessed from Loren Koeman's phone call.
To help you get that message delivered, the American Farm Bureau Federation has established a toll-free farm economy hotline, (888) 333-5757, that you can use to generate a letter to your congressmen. The entire process takes fewer than three minutes. Believe me, it will be time well-spent.
Jack Laurie
Jack Laurie, President
Michigan Farm Bureau
We have all feared the worst as harvest time approaches. What will yields be like after an unpredictable and erratic growing season? What kind of prices and profit potential will be available after an equally erratic market for most major commodities? As most of you undoubtedly know, on a first-hand basis, our fears have come home to roost. Unfortunately, there are no quick turnarounds predicted either.
Many of you may also be asking what Farm Bureau is doing. Rest assured, your organization has been active on a number of fronts in dealing aggressively with this issue. USDA's recent approval of Loan Deficiency Program payments for corn silage was, in part, the result of a phone call from Allegan County Farm Bureau member Loren Koeman. That announcement will mean a great deal to many Michigan crop and livestock farmers.
In this issue of Michigan Farm News, you will find the recommendations of an American Farm Bureau Federation "Committee on the Farm Economy," which I had the privilege of serving on with nine other state Farm Bureau presidents. These recommendations were sent to both houses of Congress and have become the subject of intense debate in various legislative packages, as each party jockeys for position on this issue prior to the November election. Many of those recommendations are reflected in a $3.9 billion farm-relief package proposed by House and Senate Republicans. The legislative package includes funding for crop-disaster losses, emergency livestock feed assistance and additional direct payments to producers to help offset the loss of export markets.
Projections of a $7.4 billion drop in net farm income this year means Congress needs to move quickly to provide emergency supplemental funding and take immediate steps to expand exports of U.S. agricultural products. Congress must focus on immediate remedies to help producers. Members of Michigan Farm Bureau's Legislative Committee were in Washington, D.C., in mid-September to personally deliver that message to Michigan congressmen.
Immediate approval of fast-track trading authority, for example, would give U.S. farmers a seat at the bargaining table as new trade deals are negotiated. Farm Bureau is also adamant that existing trade deals be honored and that the provisions for free trade be strictly enforced. We are also seeking removal of trade sanctions that have restricted access to 35 countries, effectively destroying 40 percent of our export market potential. Our competitors are only too happy to sell in these markets, and the United States earns the reputation as an unreliable supplier.
Farm Bureau is also urging Congress to avoid abandoning the market-based policies of the 1996 farm bill and to avoid extending the terms of commodity loans or removing the cap from those loans. Extending the loan term simply moves that crop into next year, and we'll end up with two crops in one year. Loan programs were intended to lessen pressure to sell at harvest time and spread sales throughout the marketing year. It is a marketing tool for producers, not an income-support program. Remember also that the loan program is of no value to people who have been hit by disaster and lost a crop.
Despite the urgency of these issues, many of the solutions are falling victim to election-year politics. The House Ways and Means Committee, for example, recently passed the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1998. Farm Bureau supports the legislation because it provides permanent income averaging, which will save farmers $45 million over five years. It also provides a five-year carryback of net operating losses (NOL) for farmers, effective this year, which will save farmers another $81 million over five years by allowing them to apply the current year's losses to five years' previous tax returns and receive a refund of taxes paid. Unfortunately, President Clinton has threatened to veto the bill.
Likewise, House Republicans recently ignored pleas by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, and requests by the American Farm Bureau Federation by rejecting President Clinton's call for $18 billion to replenish the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Withholding IMF funding will jeopardize the economic future of the United States by holding back funds that are needed to rescue ailing economies in Asia and around the globe.
Congressmen need to hear from each of you that the time for action is now. Solutions to help alleviate the current farm-economy crisis are readily available, provided that Congress can see beyond the November election. Don't underestimate the impact those phone calls can have, as we witnessed from Loren Koeman's phone call.
To help you get that message delivered, the American Farm Bureau Federation has established a toll-free farm economy hotline, (888) 333-5757, that you can use to generate a letter to your congressmen. The entire process takes fewer than three minutes. Believe me, it will be time well-spent.
Jack Laurie
Jack Laurie, President
Michigan Farm Bureau
| Printer Friendly version Plain text version |
