WASHINGTON, DC-Following Senate passage of the Farm Bill, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, released the following statement on the Farm Bill and improvements that he made to the bill for Pennsylvania agriculture:
“The new Farm Bill includes vital improvements for Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania farmers over the previous Farm Bill. I fought hard during the Committee consideration of the bill and during the floor debate to secure victories for Pennsylvania’s specialty crops, dairy farmers and conservation programs as well as increased support for nutritional programs.
“My amendments to help struggling dairy farms, apple growers and other specialty crop producers were adopted to the Senate-passed bill. My dairy pricing amendment will give dairy farmers better information to help them run their businesses effectively. My crop insurance amendment will make it easier for Pennsylvania farmers to purchase crop insurance and manage their risk.
“Conservation programs have been improved. These programs are vital to farmers, for the preservation of open space and to maintain environmental integrity of Pennsylvania. Specifically, I was pleased to be able to secure $165 million for conservation in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed that covers 41 Pennsylvania counties.”
The Farm Bill will now go to conference with the U.S. House to work out differences between the House and Senate bills before being sent to the President.
The following Casey amendments were adopted during the floor debate on the Farm Bill.
Refined Mandatory Daily Pricing for Dairy (Casey-Brown) – A condition of accepting the Casey mandatory pricing amendment in Committee was a commitment to work with stakeholders to refine the language. The refined amendment is a compromise agreed to by dairy farmers and milk processors and requires daily price reporting for currently reported products. It also provides periodic review and program changes through the Federal Milk Marketing Order process to help the program keep pace with changes in the dairy industry in years to come. The purpose of the amendment is to provide transparent, real-time pricing information to dairy farmers so that they can make informed business decisions.
Emerald Ash Borer/Invasive Pest and Disease Emergency Response (Casey-Stabenow) – It has been increasingly difficult to get approval for emergency funding to respond to an outbreak after the initial detection because OMB and USDA don’t consider subsequent years “emergencies.” The amendment strengthens the Secretary’s authority to fund emergency response by giving grants to states after the initial outbreak.
Crop Insurance (Casey-Cardin) – Gives farmers better incentives to purchase crop insurance policies at the whole-farm level as opposed to a field-by-field approach. This helps more producers, particularly in underserved crop insurance states like Pennsylvania, purchase basic and affordable coverage to better manage their risk. Making this risk management tool more attractive will likely increase the total number of acres enrolled in the crop insurance system in all underserved crop insurance states.
Food Stamp Nutrition Education (Casey-Boxer) – The Food Stamp Nutrition Education amendment expresses the sense of Congress that the USDA should support and encourage the most effective interventions for nutrition education for food stamp recipients.
The following amendments cosponsored were Senator Casey were also adopted to the Farm Bill during the floor debate:
CSFP Eligibility Increase (Stabenow-Casey) – Raises the income eligibility level for seniors participating in the Commodity Supplemental Food Program from 130% to 185% of the poverty line. This will ensure that more of Pennsylvania’s vulnerable seniors are able to participate in the program and get food boxes delivered to them.
Tree Assistance Program fix (Cantwell-Webb-Casey-Stabenow) – The TAP program helps tree fruit and vine growers replace their trees in the event of a disaster. (Other disaster assistance only covers crop loss.)
Below are summaries of other key areas that Senator Casey worked to include in the Farm Bill passed by the Senate.
Specialty Crops Title: For the first time, specialty crops (largely fruits and vegetables) have received a Subtitle in the Farm Bill. Pennsylvania’s main production crops are specialty crops. By focusing more attention on specialty crops, Pennsylvania will benefit. This non-subsidy assistance includes trade assistance, research and federal commodity purchases.
Senator Casey also passed an amendment to provide more equity for specialty crop growers (specifically apple growers) to participate in conservation programs.
Conservation, Open Space and Chesapeake Bay Conservation: Senator Casey secured $165 million in mandatory funding through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program for conservation projects in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. This watershed encompasses 41 Pennsylvania counties. This funding will help farmers meet state and federal laws to restore the Bay.
To help preserve open-space, Senator Casey helped secure an increase in funding for the Community Forest Program. This program provides grants to local and county governments to purchase privately-owned forest land that would otherwise be developed. This is an important tool to help communities manage or prevent sprawl.
Changes were also made in the Farm Bill to increase funding for conservation programs and to make conservation programs more efficient, effective and relevant to farmers.
Dairy Farmers: Senator Casey’s Mandatory Price Reporting and Marketing Transparency Amendment would help solve the problem of outdated dairy pricing. Currently, the system is extremely complex and there is not enough transparency for dairy farmers. The amendment, similar to what is used in livestock markets, would give farmers real-time reporting and data publication on a daily basis. Six months after passing the bill, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will collect and publish prices on all dairy products from all dairy processors. Small processors, those processors producing one million pounds of milk or less a year, are exempt.
Senator Casey also successfully added an amendment that requires the USDA to determine the current cost of feed and fuel for dairy farmers. The Farm-Level Feed and Fuel Index for Make Allowances Amendment would make sure that dairy farmers' true cost of production is considered before USDA allows dairy processors to lower prices paid to farmers in order to cover their own input costs.
And Senator Casey’s amendment was adopted to improve dairy advance pricing for Class II skim milk.
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program: Providing healthy food to schools with a high percentage of students in the free and reduced price lunch program will help students be ready to learn in the classroom. This program also benefits the fruit and vegetable producers in Pennsylvania. The Farm Bill includes a funding increase to $1.1 billion over five years to extend the program to every state in the country. Pennsylvania will receive $7 million a year in funding for the program.
Colony Collapse Disorder: The Farm Bill includes, as a high priority research item, an authorization for a $20 million a year study into the growing problem of Colony Collapse Disorder.
Food Stamps: Increases monthly benefits and increases asset limits so people do not have to go further into poverty in order to be eligible for the food stamp program.
Rural Hospitals: Provisions in the Farm Bill will also help to modernize and improve hospitals in rural areas through telemedicine and equipment purchases.
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