2007 Farm Bill
Sharp declines in the production of wheat and especially oats in the last few years have left millers concerned about their long-term ability to source adequate quantities of milling-quality grain. U.S. oat production is at the lowest level in history and as a result, nearly all the oats consumed in the U.S. must be imported.
Factors contributing to the decline include the booming ethanol industry that favors corn and short season varieties that make planting soybeans a newly viable alternative in the northern tier of Midwest states. But the primary factor has been the federal farm programs that encourage the production of other crops at the expense of oats and wheat, without regard to market needs.
Millers are willing to compete with other crops on a level playing field, but so long as the government provides market-distorting subsidies to those crops, farmers will not consider wheat and oats to be viable crop options. NAMA intends to be an active advocate for change in the debate of the 2007 Farm Bill as it seeks reforms that will result in a federal farm program that is more market neutral.
Rick L. Schwein testified in behalf of NAMA in a hearing before the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management. Schwein is senior vice president of Grain Millers, Inc. and NAMA’s Chairman. Schwein said, “Wheat and oat millers are willing to compete with processors of competing crops to encourage farmers to plant more of the cereal grains we need, but we cannot compete with the government-funded programs that have created massive distortions in planting decisions.”
Lynn Rundle presented similar testimony before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry in behalf of NAMA. Rundle is the Chief Executive Officer of 21st Century Grain Processing and a member of NAMA’s Board of Directors. 21st Century Grain Processing is a farmer-owned cooperative of 750 growers from Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska and Texas. “Biofuels production will require enormous acreage, so failure to significantly reform CRP will mean that reducing our dependence on foreign oil may result in increased dependence on foreign grain,” said Rundle.
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