Posted May 12, 2014
Several farm groups recently asked Secretary of
Agriculture Tom Vilsack to consider all regional interests in selecting
land-grant universities for the development of web-based tools to aid growers
in making decisions under the 2014 Farm Bill, according to an article by Farm
Progress available here.
“Given the complexity of choices in the commodity and
crop insurance titles of the farm bill, these tools will be critical for producers
in our organizations to make well-informed decisions,” the groups wrote in a
letter to Secretary Vilsack.
The groups highlighted the importance of selecting
universities representing different regional views on farm program and
suggested selecting an institution for the lead role.
“We urge you to select a lead institution possessing substantial
experience with revenue-based risk management tools and representing a
broad-based, national consortium of land-grant universities,” said the groups.
The groups said these issues are important because the changes
in the commodity and crop insurance programs are complex and will require
in-depth analysis and tailoring to specific regional differences.
The groups included the American Farm Bureau
Federation, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Barley Growers
Association, National Corn Growers Association, the National Sunflower
Association and the U.S. Canola Association, and the American Soybean
Association.
Secretary Vilsack told members on the Senate Committee
on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry that USDA has made new progress on
implementing every title of the 2014 farm bill, according to an article by
Agri-Pulse available here.
USDA noted that it took over a year to set up disaster
assistance programs after the 2008 Farm Bill passed. In contrast, this year, it took under 10
weeks to implement expired disaster assistance programs and modifications approved in the Agricultural Act of 2014.
Senator John Thune (R-SD) expressed concern, asking
that a Midwestern university be involved in explaining new commodity and crop
insurance programs.
Vilsack assured Thune that the Department is trying to avoid
any regional biases in the information going out to farmers.
For more information on farm bills, please visit the National
Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
