Wisconsin Ag Connection - Wisconsin Farm Bureau Supports Farm Bill Passage

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Wisconsin Farm Bureau Supports Farm Bill Passage
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 05/14/2008

Although the latest version of the proposed 2007 Farm Bill maybe vetoed by the Bush Administration, the leader of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation says his organization supports the measure. WFBF President Bill Bruins says the package contains several provisions that will be helpful to Wisconsin's agriculture industry, such as increased funding for conservation programs on working farmland, allowing state-inspected meat processing plants to ship product across state lines, improved financing for beginning farmers and rural development initiatives, support for trade programs to increase and expand agricultural exports, and an increased commitment to renewable energy sources such as the emerging cellulosic ethanol market.

"Wisconsin producers will also benefit from a new emphasis placed on the specialty crop market and a continuation and update of the Milk Income Loss Contract program," Bruins said.

He notes that the proposed farm bill is a complex document with a number of positives as well as some missed opportunities for reform.

"The farm bill is eight months overdue and this delay has already impeded planting, marketing and financing decisions by farmers," said Bruins. "Extending the 2002 farm bill for another one to two years only puts off tough decisions to a different Congress and president on a different day. An extension of current law is not the type of progress that was sought by the Farm Bureau's farm bill task force."

The Farm Bill was approved by a Congressional conference committee last week. But President Bush has threatened a veto, saying lawmakers didn't cut subsidies enough.

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