NFU offers new 2012 farm bill proposal

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 - The National Farmers Union (NFU) says the 2012 Farm bill should combine parts of the SURE, ACRE, and Direct and Countercyclical Payment programs to create an all encompassing safety net to protect farmers from weather disasters and contribute to deficit reduction.

 In a package of policy recommendations submitted Wednesday to the chairmen and ranking members of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees, NFU, the second-largest U.S. farm organization, said that cuts in mandatory agriculture spending should not exceed $16 billion.  That’s about half the amount suggested by President Obama.

 Budget cuts that “adversely impact” the productivity and profitability of production agriculture are “counterproductive” to our overall national economic interests, NFU said.  It added that nutrition programs should be spared from cuts.

 Farmers Union’s preference for a whole-farm revenue protection safety net based, in part, on farm-level yields is similar to a proposal authored by Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., chairman of the powerful Budget Committee and a senior member of the Ag Committee.

 In addition to commodity and nutrition programs, the NFU farm bill blueprint also covers crop insurance, conservation, dairy, livestock, energy, and rural development.

 “Affordable” federal crop insurance should be available to farmers in areas of the country that have historically not carried significant levels of coverage, the group said.  It also urged the development of crop insurance products for specialty crops, which account for roughly 50 percent of the annual value of U.S. agricultural production.

 NFU advocated for a conservation title that includes both a working lands program and a retirement program, but stressed that working lands programs must be given funding priority.