Page 63 - Farm Bill Series_The 7 Things You Should Know

Her testimony was dramatically different from Chip Bowling, a Maryland farmer representing
the National Corn Growers Association, who testified on that same day.

“NCGA cannot overemphasize the consensus among our membership that the federal crop
insurance program is the most critical risk management tool for their farm operation,” Bowling
said in his written testimony. “But while individual federal crop insurance policy coverage
provides very effective assistance if revenue or yields decline between planting and harvest, it is
limited to each policy’s insurance year and is insufficient to insure adequate return on investment
over intermediate term, such as for equipment.

So NCGA advocated for a new rolling-average revenue-based program, similar to the ARC
program that was included in the Senate bill.
House focuses on price

In the House, Chairman Lucas made clear that the yet-unwritten House bill would include a
price-based alternative to meet the concerns of Southern growers like Raun. The House version
would indeed include a “Price Loss Coverage” plan based on new “reference” prices. But it
didn’t happen without some rather testy exchanges with those who opposed setting commodity
specific price support “reference” prices.

“The behind-closed-door debates between Midwestern and Southern lobbyists and staff were
philosophical, regional, and often very personal,” recalls a source who was involved in the
discussions. And they often involved other aspects of the commodity title like payment
limitations and whether payments should be calculated on planted versus base acres.

“On price risk, it goes to the heart of the fixed price versus rolling average benchmark that
underlies the Price Loss Coverage versus Agricultural Risk Coverage fight. Do farmers need a
floor price protection that does not change or one that adjusts and expects them to also adjust
management when prices are sustained at relatively low levels?” the source asked.
In some respects, the debate also reflected the future outlook for commodity prices. Corn,
soybeans and wheat were hitting record highs during most of the period when the farm bill was
being written.

But Lucas, who farms in northwestern Oklahoma, reminded his colleagues as he opened up the
House Agriculture Committee markup in 2012 that “I know how risky it is to be a farmer….I
know at a moment’s notice a dream crop can turn into a disaster.” And as he had
frequently reminded his fellow lawmakers, “A safety net is written with bad times in mind.
These programs should not guarantee that the good times are the best but, rather, that the
bad times are manageable.”

During the voting marathon that kicked off at 10 a.m. and lasted into early the next morning,
members slogged through 95 amendments – adopting 44 and eventually withdrawing 28. (For a
list of all of the amendments and votes, click here. )

Lucas moved a bill out of his committee by a 35-11 voice vote on July 12, 2012. Some of the
most lively debate centered on supply management provisions with a new dairy program and the
sugar program, but those portions of the debate centered more on ideological rather than regional
perspectives.
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