Page 55 - Farm Bill Series_The 7 Things You Should Know

Unlike the costly and uncertain ad hoc disaster programs of the past, crop insurance provided a
more reliable and predictable way for both farmers and their lenders to calculate some of their
potential risks.

But it was a much different story when it came to writing the commodity title.
Farm bill veterans know that some of the biggest fights in farm policy usually fall along regional
rather than party lines. Depending on who is in the House and Senate committee seats, farm bill
strategies need to vary in order to pass a bill out of committee that can meld those different
interests.

During an interview with Agri-Pulse, Roberts – who previously served as chairman of the House
Agriculture Committee and now chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee – recalled advice that
he got from former House Agriculture Chairman Kika de la Garza, D-Texas, when he first took
the helm of the panel in 1995.

“He said, ‘You aren’t going to have any problems with our side. I’ll take care of our side. You
know where we are coming from and you can deal with that. Where you are going to have
problems is on your side’”

“And it’s true,” Roberts said, “because a lot of your friends expect you to do things for
them that you cannot do or you shouldn’t do.”
Regional divisions expected?

In many ways, regional divisions are expected because farmers across the U.S. grow a lot of
different crops and raise livestock under a variety of conditions.

The production risks involved in producing a bountiful crop, milking healthy cows, birthing
cattle, pigs and lambs, are almost too numerous to count. On any given day, a producer might
wonder: Will it rain? Will it rain too much? Will my animals be killed in a freak blizzard? Will
my chicken flock get struck by disease and have to be destroyed? Will my vegetables be hit by
an early frost?
Depending on how the production varies – both in the U.S. and around the world – there is also
the price risk. Prices can respond quickly and dramatically – up or down – if you are a corn and
soybean farmer and a major player in terms of global production. For example, U.S. producers
benefit when South American corn and soybean farmers have a drought – with production falling
short of market expectations - and vice versa.

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