2014 farm bill discussed in-depth at Austin Ag Forum

Writer: Blair Fannin, 979-845-2259, [email protected]

AUSTIN – Industry leaders representing Texas’ major commodities as well as Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and university experts discussed and evaluated in detail the 2014 farm bill at the recent 2015 Ag Forum in Austin recently.

The event marked 30 years of an open forum to discuss issues affecting agriculture.

“This event is the brainchild of (former U.S. Rep.) Charlie Stenholm,” said Dr. Bill Dugas, acting vice chancellor and dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.

Stenholm, who spoke at the forum, told the audience agriculture “is extremely fortunate” to have U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, as chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, praising his efforts for agriculture in the southwest and U.S. as a whole. Conaway was also in attendance at the forum and addressed attendees.

Stenholm said the U.S. budget and the $18 trillion debt will continue to be an issue for agriculture.

“There will be a budget,” he said. “It’s inexcusable not to have a budget. President Obama submitted his budget on time, and it is not a bad budget for a President’s budget.”

He stressed the importance of American farmers, and that 150,000 farmers produce 70 percent of what is produced.

Conaway said budget discussion will include the farm program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP.

He said $76 billion a year is spent on the (SNAP) program, the biggest segment of the farm program, and “we ought to get that right in review of the program.

“We need a better sense of how it is working. We want to find out what’s working and what isn’t.”

Meanwhile, presenters analyzed the farm bill and its impacts evaluated on commodities. Dr. Joe Outlaw, co-director of the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University and AgriLife Extension economist, said it is important that farmers update their yields if the update would result in a higher yield.

On base reallocation, he said farmers will need to decide “if they want to have a government safety net tied to their previous base acres that were established in the mid-1980s, or to what they are planting now.”

Overall, this farm program is one that is a safety net rather than a guaranteed annual government payment and that it is why it is critical farmers study their options, Outlaw said.

Whether it is Agricultural Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage, Outlaw said “it really depends on what you are looking for in a safety net.”

Judith Canales, Texas state executive director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Farm Service Agency, expressed gratitude to AgriLife Extension for the work done in helping provide farm bill educational workshops for farmers across the state.

She said the livestock program was the first effort to be deployed as part of the 2014 farm bill and has surpassed $700 million in payments to more than 32,000 producers.

“There are still 13,000 on the register,” she said. “We are certainly approaching $1 billion in payments.”

Canales encouraged farmers to contact their local FSA offices to update base and yield acreage by Feb. 27. Farmers can be placed on a register prior to the Feb. 27 deadline in order to establish an appointment and update their information.

“This will keep you in the process to be able to continue with the next date, which would be the election for the Agricultural Risk Coverage or the Price Loss Coverage decision, which is March 31,” Canales said.

A decision aid tool developed by the Agricultural and Food Policy Center can assist with program decisions, which can be found at https://decisionaid.afpc.tamu.edu/.

The Texas Ag Forum is an association of agricultural leaders and representatives from across the Texas food and fiber system. According to organizers, the forum provides an open and public discussion of the programs and emerging issues in agriculture. It is a stakeholder-driven program in partnership with AgriLife Extension.

Steering committee officers for the 2015 Ag Forum are Matt Huie, chair, crop and livestock producer from Beeville; Linda Raun, rice producer, El Campo; Outlaw, secretary; and Tommy Engelke, treasurer, Texas Agricultural Cooperative Council, Austin.