The Rev. Ellen Arthur of Valley City made some good points in her July 6 letter to The Sun about the need to improve the farm bill. First and foremost, the core function of the farm bill is to provide a safety net for farmers when prices collapse. I am working hard in the House Agriculture Committee to make sure we protect the safety net established in the 2002 Farm Bill, and make it even stronger for our family farmers.
Arthur points out that one of the flaws of the current farm program are payments to wealthy farmers. One of my top priorities is to close the existing loopholes in payment limits to make sure subsides are going to family farms that deserve them, and not to large corporate producers who are gaming the system.
I have also worked hard to address the large disparities that exist in the levels of benefits among the commodities. Right now, Southern commodities such as cotton receive much higher payments per acre than crops grown here on the Great Plains like wheat. I have received a commitment that the ag committee will work on rebalancing target prices and loan rates among commodities to make sure farmers in North Dakota are able to remain competitive in today's market.
Finally, Arthur makes a strong case for an improved nutrition title in the farm bill. I made sure provisions were included in the current draft of the farm bill to halt the erosion of food stamp benefits that are so vital to thousands of families in North Dakota struggling to make ends meet. Every family deserves to have access to adequate nutrition, and I pushed for changes that will increase the purchasing power of food stamps.
The farm bill we are writing in Congress will govern our nation's food policy for the years ahead. I will do everything in my power to make sure that we continue to provide a very strong safety net for farmers, and that all North Dakotans get a fair shake in this year's bill.
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(Pomeroy represents North Dakota in the U.S. House of Representatives)
