Bookmark and Share
Press Release of Senator Feingold

FEINGOLD SEES FARM BILL AS A CHANCE TO HELP FAMILY FARMS, RURAL COMMUNITIES

Feingold Seeks Reforms to Keep Wisconsin Family Farms Competitive as Senate Prepares to Take Up Farm Bill

Friday, November 2, 2007

Washington DC – As the full Senate prepares to debate the Farm Bill, U.S. Senator Russ Feingold is outlining his priorities for the bill. Feingold is focused on protecting Wisconsin’s dairy farmers, pushing for much-needed reforms, creating opportunities for rural America, and ensuring that small farms remain competitive. The Senate is expected to take up the bill next week.

“The Farm Bill provides an important opportunity to pass much-needed reforms to help smaller family farms in Wisconsin and across the country,” Feingold said. “I am pleased that the bill already has a number of provisions that are good for Wisconsin, like restoring the 45 percent reimbursement rate for dairy producers under the MILC program. I will continue to push for reforms when the bill comes to the floor, like ensuring a level playing field for family farmers, increasing our investment to rural America, and making locally produced food more accessible to the communities where it is grown.”

Feingold’s priorities for the Farm Bill include:

Protecting Wisconsin’s Dairy Farmers

  • MILC – Senator Feingold has supported successful efforts to include language in the bill returning the MILC program’s reimbursement rate to 45 percent.
  • Better USDA oversight – In a follow-up to his efforts to hold the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) accountable for inaccurate reporting of dairy prices, Feingold is pushing for continued oversight by USDA of non-fat dry milk prices and reports on cheese trading.
  • Democracy for Dairy Producers – Senator Feingold supports allowing modified bloc voting for dairy cooperatives under the federal milk marketing orders. Cooperatives could still bloc vote, but dairy producers should be allowed to cast separate ballots if they so choose.

Pushing Common-sense Reforms while retaining farm safety nets

  • Capping subsidy payments – Senator Feingold plans to support an effort by Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to cap subsidy payments at $250,000 per year per person.
  • Shifting resources to those who need it most – Feingold supports efforts to curb payments to non-farmers, trim payments to the largest farms and shift the savings to programs that benefit farmers and rural communities, like working lands conservation.

Creating Opportunities for Rural America

Earlier this year, Senator Feingold introduced the Rural Opportunities Act of 2007. Feingold plans on pushing for the inclusion of some of his bills’ provisions during debate over the Farm Bill.

  • Rural Broadband – Feingold supports provisions currently in the Farm Bill to improve existing broadband programs to increase Internet access in rural areas. There was a similar provision in Feingold’s Rural Opportunities Act.
  • Local Markets – Feingold supports language in the Farm Bill similar to provisions in his Rural Opportunities Act that help local farmers work in conjunction with schools in their community to supply their cafeterias with locally grown products.
  • Bio-economy – Senator Feingold is encouraged that the current Farm Bill includes investment in cellulosic ethanol, as well as language from a bill cosponsored by Feingold to provide local residents an opportunity to invest in bio-refineries located in their communities.

Fighting for fairness for Wisconsin's family farmers

  • Standing up for Wisconsin’s local livestock farmers and meat processors – Senator Feingold is a strong supporter of a successful effort by Senator Herb Kohl to include language helping local producers who use smaller state-inspected meat processors make their products available in other states.
  • Livestock title – Feingold supports a provision in the Farm Bill from Senator Tom Harkin's (D-IA) Competitive and Fair Agricultural Markets Act to improve producer protections from unfair competition.
  • Ensuring Farmers Have their Day in Court – The Farm Bill contains language based on the Fair Contracts for Growers Act, Feingold’s joint legislation with Senator Grassley, to ensure farmers are not forced into mandatory binding arbitration agreements with large agribusinesses.
  • Farmer Tax Fairness – The Farm Bill includes language from Feingold's Farmer Tax Fairness Act of 2007 to help ensure farmers and other self-employed individuals are able to remain eligible for social security and disability benefits.