Cutting my teeth in the Minnesota state Senate more than 20 years ago, I learned a few things about politics and compromise. Back there, we did things in a way that many in D.C. haven’t experienced — we worked from the bottom up and brought everyone to the table.

As the farm bill came up for reauthorization this year, I drew on those lessons once again and set out to put this bill together through the most open and inclusive process possible. In my view, that’s the only way to govern.

In the past two years, the House Agriculture Committee held a total of 39 farm bill hearings, reviewing programs out in the field as well as the regulatory structure here in Washington. We heard from producers, consumers, associations and government officials. We read letters, took meetings, and encouraged widespread input from all sectors of agriculture to determine how best to improve farm policy.

What we heard was encouraging. Farmers and ranchers were thriving under our commodity programs; technological advances were making the Food Stamp Program more efficient and effective; and the interest and capacity for bio-based renewable energy was growing stronger every day.

As we kicked off the drafting process then, the mission was clear: maintain the safety net for America’s farmers and ranchers while enacting reforms to improve nutrition programs, limit government waste and ensure that the farm bill was fiscally responsible. It was no easy task. But through hard work and compromise we produced a bill that is good for producers and consumers, and brings us one step forward on the path to energy independence.

It was a team effort all the way, and we accomplished more than even I had anticipated. From the Speaker of the House to the committee’s ranking member and the leaders of the subcommittees, our new freshman members and outside organizations, it was a collaborative effort in which everyone had a voice. By allowing everyone a seat at the table, it helped people understand where we were and what we had to do to pull this bill together. And it worked.

The 2007 farm bill maintains the safety net that helps farmers and ranchers provide America with a safe and abundant supply of food. At the same time, it includes significant reforms to ensure that the money gets to where it is needed most — with hardworking family farmers and ranchers.

The House bill makes historic investments in conservation programs in order to protect the environment, improve air quality, build wildlife habitat and help farmers in their environmental stewardship efforts.

Our bill provides unprecedented mandatory funding for fruits and vegetables, including $1.6 billion in nutrition, research, pest management and trade promotion programs. 

But the farm bill deals with much more than just farm policy.

The 2007 farm bill extends and expands important nutrition programs that fight hunger in the United States. It increases the minimum benefit for the Food Stamp Program for the first time in more than 30 years, and indexes asset limits for inflation to ensure that benefits continue to prevent food insecurity in the future.

The bill includes important funding that will help control childhood obesity by providing schools with a consistent and fresh supply of healthy choices to serve during lunches and school snack times.

It makes important investments that will advance the next generation of renewable fuels. The bill’s Energy Title provides loan guarantees to build renewable fuel refineries to increase our production capacity and supports the development of cellulosic ethanol feedstocks to ensure that we are not dependent solely on corn.

Finally, after a great deal of compromise and hard work, we brought all sides to the table and reached consensus on country-of-origin labeling that will finally give consumers the information they want about where their food comes from so they can choose what to buy for themselves.

This is a farm bill for farmers. It’s a farm bill for consumers. It’s a farm bill for anyone who likes to eat, wear clothes, breathe clean air or go camping. It’s a farm bill for rural America, urban America and everything in between.

Of course there will always be critics, but farm policy is more about evolution than revolution. I am proud of what we have put together and confident that this farm bill will bring us into the future by balancing security and reform.

Peterson is chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.

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