JOHANNS ADDRESSES NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FARM BROADCASTERS
Posted: April 29, 2009 04:53 PM EDT
Washington, DC(release)-Senator Mike Johanns’ Remarks As Delivered: “Let me start out with something I think is absolutely key to the success of Agriculture-and I don’t need to dig too deep here-and that is trade. When I traveled the world as the Ag Secretary - with some of you making some of those trips - I came to understand just how important this issue is.
“I suspect you’ve heard me say this before, but it bears repeating: 96 percent of the world’s consumers reside outside the United States. We are truly a global marketplace. Every third row of crops produced in this country is sold in the international marketplace. My state, Nebraska, alone exported more than four billion dollars in agricultural products in 2008. Imagine if you start cutting into that, what will happen to the bottom line.
“I will be very candid, it is perplexing that the Obama Administration has not asked for Trade Promotion Authority - or fast track as it was once known. As you know, it expired about a year and a half to two years ago. I support giving it to the President, regardless of party. TPA is absolutely critical to negotiate trade agreements.
“I’ve sat through hours and hours of negotiations as a member of President Bush’s cabinet. There is a point in all negotiations, after months and months of work, when all the cards are laid face up on the table, when you reach across the table to shake hands on a deal. With TPA, it is then taken to the House and Senate for them to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for it. It is not amendable.
“Can you imagine reaching a trade agreement, with all the cards laid face up on the table, and the next statement you make to the negotiator on the other side, is that there are 535 potentials for further amendment in that trade agreement? Countries just won’t deal with it.
“I hope the Administration gets aggressive about expanding trade, and TPA is a piece of it. Agreements like the one with Colombia must be dusted off and brought to the Senate and the House for approval. Rarely has there been a clearer case of leveling the playing field for our producers. Right now, almost all products from Colombia enter our country duty-free under previous trade agreements. Zero tariffs. Our producers deserve the same duty-free access to the Colombian market. Yet, some still face export tariffs as high as 40 percent. The Colombia trade agreement would immediately eliminate tariffs on 80 percent of U.S. exports to Colombia. This includes many agricultural products like high quality beef, cotton, wheat, soybeans and key fruits and vegetables.
“A similar story could be told about the South Korea and Panama trade agreements. I hope this Administration recognizes the huge potential for these agreements to strengthen agriculture and our overall economy, not to mention bolstering very important friendships in parts of the world friends are getting harder and harder to find.
“As markets expand, so does the number of products and niche markets. Last week, USDA announced that it will conduct the first-ever, wide-scale survey of organic farming in the United States. The goal is to better understand how organic farming fits into the larger U.S. agriculture picture. This comes after the appointment of Kathleen Merrigan - who has spent a good part of her career working to promote and advance organic farming practices - to be Deputy Secretary. And I’m guessing by now we all know about the organic garden that has been planted at the White House. Plus, the area around the Whitten Building will apparently be transformed into an organic garden.
“I don’t begrudge the Administration for their zeal for organic foods. There are consumers out there that share that zeal. I have long been a supporter of innovative, value-added agriculture. If you can find your niche, great. In fact, as Secretary of Agriculture, I supported a number of organic farming initiatives, including increased funding for the Organic Cost Share Program to offset certification costs which can be burdensome. But, the President and USDA must support all of agriculture. Conventional agriculture and organic farming are not mutually exclusive.
“Today is a good opportunity to urge the Administration not to let their fervor for organic production cloud their judgment regarding the production methods for traditional crops. Traditional farming and ranching operations are the backbone of agriculture in the United States. Fertilizers, pesticides, and modern plant and animal genetics help our farmers and ranchers fight disease, attack insects and pests, ensuring a safe and abundant food supply. These hard-working Americans literally feed the world, and play an increasing role in our energy security.
“It is fine to romanticize that farming should return to its agrarian beginnings-where every farm family owned a few acres, a dairy cow, a couple pigs, and a chicken coop, but it is far from realistic. To put it into perspective, consider these facts. According to USDA’s last census of agriculture in 2007, of the 2.2 million farms in this country, more than 99 percent are engaged in conventional farming practices. USDA’s Economic Research Service also reports that over 96 percent of the food in this country is produced on commercial farming operations.
“I’m as tempted as anyone to hearken back to the days of the farm I grew up on, a quarter section. A dozen sows farrowed at a time, thirty cows, bottled calves. Train them how to drink out of a bucket. I have a little statue on my coffee table in my office of a young farm boy feeding a calf with a bottle. Man, what a life. What a great way to grow up.
“But the world does change, and farming has gotten better, and better, and better. No-till farming, integrated pest management, and field buffers are not foreign concepts to our farmers. According to one report, farmers currently use reduced tillage practices to prevent soil erosion on 72 million acres, and they maintain over 1.3 million acres of grassland.
“We do agriculture the best of any place in the world, and I’ve been around the world many times. We cannot afford to enact policies or neglect agriculture in a way that minimizes the importance of this very important piece of our economy, and its importance in feeding the world.
“There is another issue which will continue to demand our full attention, one that has demanded my attention and heavy involvement on the Senate floor. That’s Obama Administration’s budget request to Congress, proposed to collect $646 billion in revenues from cap-and-trade legislation. Some estimate that this could go up to $1 trillion, trillion with a ‘t.’
“To say that this proposal would be very costly for agriculture is an understatement. The reality is that it could cost every American household about $3,000 a year in additional taxes.
“Shortly after this proposal, during confidential briefings, Administration officials acknowledged that the real amount could be two or three times the original estimate of $646 billion. That means the President’s proposal amounted to a much higher tax than the Administration was willing to admit - over a trillion dollars. Keep in mind, based on previous climate proposals, the likely effects of cap-and-trade are increased electricity and heating costs, construction costs, fertilizer prices, and higher gas and diesel prices.
“The Obama plan could cost every family in America about three thousand dollars each by 2015. And if it is going to cost the average family three thousand dollars, just how much it is going to cost farm families? Fertilizer costs will sky-rocket, natural gas costs to dry grain will increase, diesel prices to fuel tractors and combines will jump. The cost of corn production in Nebraska would go up by $40-80 an acre, which means higher input costs for livestock production as well. A farm family’s pocket book can only stretch so far.
“Despite these undeniable impacts, Administration officials decided to push the idea of passing cap-and-trade through budget reconciliation. This legislative maneuver bypasses normal Senate procedures, limits debate, and restricts amendments. Essentially, it’s a shortcut. I believe that if any proposal requires a robust, open, and extensive debate on the Senate floor, it is cap-and-trade.
“That’s why, during the budget debate, I asked the Senate to vote twice to ensure that cap-and-trade legislation would not slipped into law using budget maneuvers. Both of those attempts passed overwhelmingly with bipartisan support - almost 70 percent of the U.S. Senate. And yet, I report to you today the amendment was blatantly omitted from the conference report. It appears nowhere. The door has been re-opened to pass sweeping climate legislation through a shortcut budget process.
“Additionally, the Obama Administration now decided to circumvent the legislative process to try to accomplish their carbon restrictions through regulation. As many of you know, EPA recently issued a proposed rule to declare that greenhouse gas emissions should be treated as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. This EPA proposal could have devastating consequences for livestock producers because cattle emit methane, one of the gases EPA proposes to regulate. With ever-increasing costs of production, this puts farms at risk.
“In fact, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, if the EPA moves forward with this regulation, it will cost a medium sized dairy farm with 75 to 125 cows up to $22,000 a year. It could cost a medium-sized beef cattle farm with 200 to 300 cows $27,000 a year.
“To fend off this potentially damaging action by EPA, I have co-sponsored S.527 with Senator Thune, to prevent the regulation of naturally occurring livestock emissions, including methane and carbon dioxide. This legislation, I think, is just a common sense approach. We will do everything we can to get it passed.
“Another example of an agenda that may not be in step with American agriculture — producers may now have to file for a permit from EPA if they want to apply pesticides. In January, a court overturned the normal practice which ensured that pesticide applications were okay as long as they complied with FIFRA (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act). Unfortunately, the Obama Administration has failed to ask for a re-hearing on this misguided decision.
“It now appears that pesticide applicators will be subject to permit requirements under the Clean Water Act. Additional permitting is inefficient, unnecessary, and inappropriate for agriculture. We all know that bugs and weeds aren’t going to wait for a permit from EPA.
“On a positive note, I think it’s a step in the right direction for EPA to propose raising the limit on ethanol blends in gasoline from 10-percent to 15-percent. I have long supported this, and it was something we started working on when I was Secretary of Agriculture. It’s good to see it move forward.
“Now as I mentioned when I started, this is the 100th day of the Administration. There will be a lot of fanfare about that, and there is already. While we have all been working very hard, I take note of something that has not happened, which I believe should happen.
“On the campaign trail in Iowa, then-candidate Barack Obama promised to hold a Presidential summit within his first 100 days to discuss the challenges facing rural America. Additionally, he promised to deliver a package of rural initiatives to Congress in his first 100 days as President. Well, today we hit the 100-day mark and, no summit, no grand rural agenda. That’s disappointing. I think it’s safe to say a lot of us supported the idea for a rural summit.
“Now, I understand how an Administration’s timelines on its campaign promises may slip, but I hope that President Obama fulfills this promise in the near future. I’m sure this crowd is well-aware of that promise and your continued inquiries, as much as anything, might help to make it a reality in the future.
“If you take any message home with you, take this: The agriculture community must pay attention.
During these difficult economic times, costs matter. We must work to prevent policies that will cripple and crush agricultural producers with counterproductive, overreaching, and economically inhibiting policies and regulations.
“You’ve heard me say that policies should be based on sound science. This belief has served me well. I’ve also said they should be based upon common sense. It is essential that the ag community remain watchful and engaged. Your stories alert the ag community as to what is happening here.
“I will close by saying thank you. Thank you for your contribution to the place I love, rural America.”
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 at 4:38 pm and is filed under News, Special Updates.
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