Nebraska

Farmers

Union

 

1305 Plum Street • Lincoln, NE 68502

www.nebraskafarmersunion.org

 

Contact John Hansen   Office:  402-476-8815,

Fax:  402-476-8859, Cell:  402-580-8815

john@nebraskafarmersunion.org

 

For Immediate Release: May 22, 2008         Contact: John Hansen 402-476-8815 john@nebraskafarmersunion.org

Nebraska Farmers Union Commends Nelson, Fortenberry & Smith

For Votes On “Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008”


LINCOLN, NE (May 22, 2008) – Following the House of Representatives 318-106 and the Senate 81 to 15 original votes in favor of the “Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008”and the two successful override votes of President Bush’s veto, Nebraska Farmers Union praised the efforts and support of Senator Nelson, Representative Fortenberry, and Representative Smith for their positive votes on behalf of Nebraska’s largest single industry, production agriculture.   

 

Nebraska Farmers Union (NEFU) President John Hansen said, "Senator Nelson and Representatives Fortenberry and Smith have worked hard as respective members of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees.  They brought forward many positive amendments to the Farm Bill that will benefit Nebraska.  We appreciate the fact that their doors, ears, and minds have been open from beginning to end of the very long and confusing process.  We also thank the hard working staffs of Senator Nelson, Representative Fortenberry, and Representative Smith who have spent many long hours and late nights on this two-year process.  We give them all a well deserved tip of the hat and a pat on the back for standing with rural Nebraska during our time of need,” said NEFU President John K. Hansen.

 

NWFU President John Hansen, a member of the National Farmers Union (NFU) Legislative Committee since 1990, currently serves as its Chairman, and has been involved to some degree in every Farm Bill since 1972.  He said this Farm Bill process is one for the record books.  “During this two-year long, difficult, confusing, and challenging process, everyone involved has struggled to respond to the changing realities facing both food producers and consumers.  Despite all the negative press, this Farm Bill is a forward looking Bill that is about much more than just farmers; it is also about food assistance, renewable energy, conservation, and rural development.” 

 

This is the first Farm Bill in history to become law over the veto of the President, complicated by a series of errors that began with a clerical error by the House of Representatives that inadvertently left out Title 3 of the Farm Bill as the Bill was sent to the White House.  The error was compounded by the failure of the Office of Management and Budget and the White House to catch the omission.   While Title 3, the trade title of the Farm Bill and budget will need to be dealt with after the Memorial Day break, fourteen of the fifteen titles of the Farm Bill are now law.  “It is fortunate that this Farm Bill has strong bi-partisan support in both the House and Senate, or we would have no Farm Bill at all, and that would be a real disaster for conservation, and both food producers and food consumers,” said Hansen.

 

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The 2008 Farm Bill will benefit all Americans through the following provisions:

 

 

·        A Country-of-Origin Labeling agreement that includes the grandfathering date from January 1, 2008 to July 15, 2008 for foreign livestock already in the U.S.;

 

·        Authorization for a process to allow interstate shipment of state inspected meat;

 

·        Continuation of the Milk Income Contract Loss (MILC) program with added cost of production;

 

·        More than $900 million for specialty crops;

 

·        $7.9 billion for conservation programs;

 

·        More than $10 billion in increased funding for domestic and international nutrition programs;

 

·        Payment reforms that eliminate the triple entity rule, require direct attribution of farm program payments, lowers the Adjusted Gross Income program eligibility hard caps from $2.5 million to $500,000 for non-farmers and sets a new $750,000 AGI eligibility hard cap for farmers;

 

·        Increased funding for the next generation of renewable fuels;

 

·        The 54-cent ethanol tariff would be extended for two years, but the ethanol blenders’ credit would be reduced from 51-cents to 45-cents;

 

·        EQIP program will receive an additional $2.4 billion over the next ten years;

 

·        The National Veterinary Medical Services Act, a loan repayment program for food animal veterinarians practicing in underserved areas was revamped to limit the program to rural areas;

 

 

 

 

 

 

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