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TSCRA Daily News Update, May 16, 2008
Farm bill passes Congress, heads to President’s desk The new Farm Bill Conference Committee Report has cleared both houses of Congress by what appears to be veto-proof margins. The legislation passed the House of Representatives on May 14 on a vote of 318-106, while the Senate approved the report on May 15, by a vote of 81-15. The bill now heads to President Bush, who is expected to veto the Conference Committee Report. If that happens, votes to override the President’s veto are expected to take place next week. The latest extension of the 2002 Farm Bill was set to expire May 16. But in both the House and Senate, a one-week extension was passed by unanimous consent. Congressional leaders are hopeful that a new Farm Bill will be in place before Congress adjourns for the Memorial Day recess. Key developments from the Farm Bill Conference Committee include the following: Conservation/environment programs: An additional $4.4 billion in program dollars are divided between the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Individual EQIP contracts are not to exceed $300,000 over six years. However, the Secretary of Agriculture may grant a waiver for environmentally significant projects which would boost that number to $400,000 over six years. Similarly, the Conference Committee placed a cap on the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) levels for participants in conservation programs. The cap is set at $1 million for those people who are not considered "farmers." But for farmers - defined as those with at least 2/3 of their income coming from farming/ranching activities - there is no AGI cap for conservation programs. Like the payment cap, the Secretary may also waive the $1 million AGI cap for environmentally significant projects. Other key funding levels include:
Renewable energy: The new Farm Bill would reduce the ethanol blender's tax credit by about 12 percent, while increasing incentives for cellulosic ethanol production. This shift could provide a greater incentive for ethanol plants to move more quickly toward cellulosic production, a move supported by NCBA. But the bill also includes a two-year extension (through 2010) of the 54-cent per gallon ethanol import tariff, which had been set to expire at the end of this year. NCBA member policy supports allowing the tariff to expire, because it limits access to a potential fuel source during a time of great need, and insulates grain-based ethanol production from market competition. Permanent ag disaster program: NCBA applauds the inclusion of a $3.807 billion permanent disaster aid program. Under this permanent program, farmers and ranchers who purchase Non-insured Agricultural Program (NAP) coverage could be eligible to receive compensation for extreme forage or livestock losses resulting from disasters such as drought, wildfires and floods. Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL): The Farm Bill contains language that makes implementation of COOL more flexible for both producers and the meat industry, and moves us closer to having an improved COOL law under which USDA can write its final rule by September 30. The Farm Bill language provides for the same four-tier labeling system that was passed as a part of the House version of the Farm Bill back in July 2007, and extends the grandfather date for domestic livestock from January 1, 2008, to July 15, 2008. Livestock Title: The Conference Committee voted to remove provisions calling for a ban on packer ownership of cattle from the Farm Bill. Also, provisions calling for the creation an Office of Special Counsel were removed from the Farm Bill before a vote needed to be taken. NCBA opposed both of these provisions.
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