AMERICAN AGRICULTURE MOVEMENT CALLS FOR AG
COMMITTEES TO TRY AGAIN

 The legislation just passed out of the Senate-House conference committee is nothing more than a rewrite of the failed 1996 farm bankruptcy act.  The members of both agriculture committees should be ashamed of themselves.  Do they really think they can get different results by leaving in the old failed programs of the 1996 farm bill?  By all reports the 1996 farm bill was short-sighted and overly optimistic in projecting export numbers.  Thus, costing billions of dollars in additional yearly appropriations to subsidize the rural economy.

“The same pinhead economists who supported the 1996 farm bill are the same ones to support this failed attempt of providing this nations farmers with a safety net and to guarantee this nations consumers a safe and plentiful food supply at reasonable cost,” stated Buddy Vance, President from Panhandle, TX.

The one new provision to this farm bill is the country of origin labeling.  AAM has supported and worked for this legislation since 1986.  We are very pleased to see the ag committees keep this legislation in the conference report.  We know where our clothes and shoes are made and many other consumer goods.  The labeling of food products should have been done in the very beginning when importing of foreign meats, fish and dairy products first started.

The Johnson amendment that banned packer ownership of livestock 14 days prior to slaughter was supported by every major farm organization and most commodity groups.  The stripping of this legislation from the conference report once again illustrates the very need for this kind of legislation to protect the family farmers and ranchers of this country.  Massive amounts of dollars were spent by the giant packing and processing multi-nationals to corporate giants who want to control the entire food supply.  The greedy just go crazy when they can’t have it all.

“The American Agriculture Movement calls for the entire farm bill to be defeated and the agriculture committees sent back to work out a farm bill that is in the best interest of the producers of this country,” concluded Vance in closing remarks.

“We must have a safe and plentiful food supply produced in this country.  The current legislation and the one just passed out of conference committee fails to provide these safe guards.  Being dependent on foreign imports is how we got into the mess we are in with oil imports,” stated Wayne Allen, Vice-President from Perkins, OK.

“Farmers have already made planting decisions for this year.  One mid-west farmer stated that he has now planted three corn crops since Congress started talking about this farm bill.  There is no rush to pass out a farm bill now.  The ag committees need to go back and get it right,” concluded Allen.