Grainnet

Kansas Wheat Applauds Farm Bill's Built-In Safety Net for Farmers

With both Senate and House Ag Committee chairmen starting the Farm Bill process more than a year ago with harmful statements about the direct payments, it appears that Kansas wheat growers might soon get a safety net for the crop they are preparing to harvest.

The conference committee report was released for public review Tuesday and will be voted on by both houses this week.

Results critical to Kansas wheat growers are the direct payment and crop insurance programs.

Direct Payment participants will suffer a two percent cut to the base acres covered by the program during the middle three years of the five-year program.

So that means, wheat farmers can expect the same direct payment for the 2008 crop as they have received in the past (85% base acres x APH x $0.52).

In 2009, 2010 and 2011 producers will receive $0.52 cents times their production history times 83.3% of their base acres.

In the final year of the program, 2012, payments will be restored to 85% of base acres.

“Our sincere thanks to Kansas Senator Pat Roberts and Congressman Jerry Moran who fought for direct payments and crop insurance as farms, banks and every associated business in rural Kansas is sustained by economic industry of agriculture, reports Joe Kejr, President of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers.

“The sustainability of family farms will be supported at a time when input costs are skyrocketing and producers are experiencing historic volatility in the marketplace.

Farmers are giving up $313 million in cuts to the direct payment program for more than $10 billion in new money to nutrition programs, resulting in a total of about 2/3 of the bill’s price tag for nutrition programs.

Additionally, conservation programs get an additional $4 billion and more than $1 billion will be distributed to both specialty crops and renewable energy programs.

While Congress debated this key legislation, farmers continue to work diligently planting crops, scouting for agronomic disease and pests and applying pricey fertilizer and fungicide to their crops.

Each of these functions requires fuel for the tools of their trade. Numerous Kansas farmers recently reported to the Kansas Wheat office that each visit to the gas pump to fill up their equipment results in a price tag of several thousand dollars.

For more information, call 785-539-0255.