Page 69 - MFB State Annual Meeting 2018 -- RESOLUTIONS BOOK

7.1. We support the following principles to guide development of programs in the next farm bill:
7.1.1. Protecting current Farm Bill program spending;
7.1.2. Maintaining a unified farm bill which includes nutrition
programs and farm programs together;
7.1.3. Any changes to current farm legislation be an amendment to
the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 or the Agricultural Act
of 1949; and
7.1.4. Risk management tools which include both federal crop
insurance and commodity programs as top funding priorities.
7.2. Other Principles: 7.2.1.Commodity Programs:
7.2.1.1. We support:
7.2.1.1.1.
7.2.1.1.2. 7.2.1.1.3. 7.2.1.1.4.
7.2.1.1.5.
7.2.1.1.6.
Continuation of a counter-cyclical program like the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program and a revenue program like the ARC program, including using RMA data as the primary source to determine a more accurate county yield as long as RMA data at the farm level data is protected from FOIA. If ARC-County is continued, we support changes to make the program more effective and fairer to all farmers;
If existing programs continue, the opportunity for farmers to re-elect and/or re-enroll;
Basing Title I payments on historic, rather than planted, acres;
Modifying “Actively Engaged” rules to more broadly define “family” by including non-lineal familial relationships such as first or second cousins. The family farm exemption from the management restriction and recordkeeping requirements should remain in place; Developing farm savings accounts as a risk management option for all producers; and
The current provisions for the peanut program in the 2014 Farm Bill.
7.2.2. Risk Management Programs
7.2.2.1. The availability of crop yield and/or revenue insurance for all producers of all crops, aquaculture, livestock and poultry in the country; and
7.2.2.2. Changes in the Livestock Forage Program to allow contiguous counties also be declared eligible for disaster assistance, and for increasing the number of weather stations in a county.
7.2.3. Dairy:
7.2.3.1. Further development and availability of the new Dairy Revenue Protection insurance product and the ability for producers to use it in conjunction with the Dairy Livestock Gross Margin (LGM) program and a commodity title dairy safety net;
7.2.3.2. Expansion of RMA risk management programs for dairy producers, with the inclusion of milk as a defined commodity;
7.2.3.3. Require a commodity title dairy safety net program that: 7.2.3.3.1. Gives farmers an option to select either a
program that provides protection against a
decline in milk price or a decline in milk margin; 7.2.3.3.2. Includes significant enhancements to any gross
margin program to effectively support dairy farmers, including:
(i) Adjusting the program trigger to function monthly;
(ii) Increasing Tier 1 coverage from 4 million pounds of milk to 5 million pounds of milk for all dairy producers;
(iii) Increasing the catastrophic margin level from $4.00 to $5.00 and
AFBF Policies – Page 13