More than two decades ago, when Ford only sold alcohol-fueled cars outside North America, some guys in Minnesota imported a 100 percent ethanol Ford Fiesta and drove it all over the state. Back then, when we would talk about ethanol, people thought we were nuts. Now ethanol is blended into all American gasoline to help it burn cleaner, and the market for agriculturally based energy is growing by leaps and bounds. Times have certainly changed — and for the better.

It’s a busy and exciting time for those of us on the Agriculture Committee. As we prepare to write the Farm Bill this year, prices for most crops are high, government spending for agriculture is low, and rural America is leading the way toward energy independence.

We got an early start on the Farm Bill process, gathering feedback from all sectors of agriculture and meeting with farmers, ranchers, and organizations while we wait for the Budget Committee to release its baseline for the Farm Bill. Last year we held 11 field hearings around the country to discuss what can be improved in the current law. The good news is that farmers and ranchers generally approve of the 2002 Farm Bill and seek relatively minor changes and improvements. 

One of my top priorities as we write this bill is to expand the use of agriculturally based energy to free the United States from its dependence on foreign oil. Renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel provide an unparalleled opportunity to create new jobs, decrease pollution and revitalize rural America while moving us toward energy independence.
Future ethanol-industry growth will require increased investment in technologies that use cellulosic feedstocks. Additional research is also important to take us to the next level of efficiency for biofuel production. The Farm Bill can help us reach the potential of this exciting industry by including funds for research to develop fully these areas of study.
I also hope to include a permanent disaster-assistance program in the Farm Bill. Producers around the country have suffered the effects of droughts, floods, wildfires, freezes and blizzards, collectively losing millions of dollars in crops and livestock. The ad-hoc disaster bills passed in previous years took too long to pass and were unnecessarily expensive. A permanent disaster program is needed to ensure that farmers and ranchers get assistance in a timely manner.

Moving forward, we are receiving Farm Bill proposals from many organizations, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture. I appreciate the work that Secretary Johanns and his staff put into the administration’s Farm Bill recommendations. There were certainly some good ideas in there, along with some others that I don’t agree with at all.
One area where I match up with Secretary Johanns is conservation. I want this Farm Bill to reaffirm our commitment to conservation. We need to increase funding for important programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

A proposal that I do not agree with, however, is lowering the adjusted gross income limit for farm payment eligibility. While I understand that the budget is tight and we need to fund new efforts in renewable fuels and conservation, this proposal would greatly hurt producers who work to provide America with a safe and abundant supply of food.

Our nation has come to depend on the safe, affordable and reliable food supply that America’s farmers and ranchers provide. The current farm safety net helps in that effort by restoring a portion of lost income when prices fall. That system is working and we should preserve it. We also must work to avoid the mistakes of the 1996 Farm Bill. It was written during a time of high commodity prices and wound up costing the federal government more than $23 billion in additional “low-price” payments to farmers.

I am proud to serve as chairman of the Agriculture panel at such an important time, and look forward to working with my colleagues to write a Farm Bill that meets the needs of all Americans — farmers, ranchers and consumers.

Peterson is the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.

SPECIAL REPORT: FARM BILL