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The 'Farm Bill' Is Especially Important to Farmers Today
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(70 seconds)
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(OPEN):
HOUSE AGRICULTURE-COMMITTEE
CHAIRMAN, MIKE CONAWAY, OF TEXAS, DISCUSSES THE CHALLENGES FACING FARMERS
TODAY--AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE "FARM BILL", TO ALL AMERICANS...
(CONAWAY):
"IT'S HARD TIMES:
WHEN WE DID THE '14 'FARM BILL', THINGS WERE PRETTY GOOD IN [THE] PRODUCTION-AGRICULTURE WORLD; COMMODITY-PRICES WERE GOOD.
SINCE THEN, NOW WE'VE HAD A 50-PERCENT DROP IN NET-INCOME FROM THE FARM--THE WORST SINCE THE DEPRESSION.
AND, COMMODITY-PRICES DON'T LOOK TO BE GETTING ANY BETTER, OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
SO, THE 'SAFETY NET' THAT IS THE 'FARM BILL' IS KICKING IN, AND IS DOING EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS DESIGNED TO
DO--AND THAT IS TO GET OUR PRODUCERS ACROSS THESE TOUGH SPOTS THAT THEY'RE CURRENTLY IN, UNTIL COMMODITY-PRICES IMPROVE AND THEY CAN ACTUALLY BE MAKING MONEY IN THE MARKET.
BUT, A LOT ARE LIVING THESE HARD TIMES: WE'VE HAD FOUR LISTENING-SESSIONS, SO
FAR--AND IN EACH ONE OF THOSE, WE'VE HAD SOME REALLY POIGNANT STORIES ABOUT JUST HOW DIFFICULT FINANCIAL-CIRCUMSTANCES ARE, WITHIN EACH OF THESE COMMODITIES.
AND, IT'S HARD. SO, HAVING A 'FARM BILL' IS IMPORTANT: YOU CAN HATE THE
'FARM BILL'--OR YOU CAN LOVE THE 'FARM BILL'. BUT, IT DELIVERS THE MOST-ABUNDANT, THE SAFEST, AND [THE MOST-]
AFFORDABLE--EMPHASIS ON 'AFFORDABLE'--FOOD- AND FIBER-SUPPLY OF ANY DEVELOPED-NATION IN THE WORLD.
SO, WE DON'T WANT TO SCREW THAT UP."
(CLOSE):
LEARN MORE AT "SUGAR-ALLIANCE"-DOT-ORG.
FOR THE "INTERNATIONAL SWEETENER SYMPOSIUM" IN SAN DIEGO,
I'M ERIC JON MAGNUSON.
For more audio from many of those participating in the 34th-annual
International Sweetener Symposium, click
here.
