December 18, 2001… St. Louis, Missouri… The American Soybean Association (ASA) is urging Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman to act immediately on the Department’s commitment to announce loan rates for 2002 crops this month. Farmers and their lenders need to know what the safety net for 2002 crops of soybeans and other commodities will be during the final year of the 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act, should it remain in effect. Further delay will increase uncertainty and the potential for misunderstanding as producers make planting decisions in the coming weeks.
“With no certainty that the
next farm bill will be in effect for 2002 crops, farmers and their lenders need
to know as soon as possible what next year’s farm program will be under the
final year of the FAIR Act,” said ASA President Bart Ruth, a soybean and corn
producer from Rising City, Nebraska. “It now seems virtually certain that
Congress will not complete the new farm bill this year.”
ASA first requested action on 2002 crop loan rates on October 17, 2001. ASA leaders again raised this issue in a meeting at the U.S. Department of Agriculture on October 30. At that time, Under Secretary J.B. Penn advised ASA that the Department would announce its decision on loan rate levels in early December. That has not happened.
“It is possible that farm
bill legislation acceptable to the Administration can be enacted shortly after
Congress returns in 2002, in time to be effective for next year’s crops,” Ruth
said. “However, it is also possible that legislation will not be completed
until later in the year, and that the FAIR Act will remain in place for 2002
crops.”
ASA is strongly urging
Secretary Veneman to announce 2002 crop loan rates, contingent on the
possibility that new farm legislation may not replace the FAIR Act. ASA is also
urging the Secretary to preserve continuity in Department policy by maintaining
the 2002 soybean loan rate at the current 2001 level of $5.26 per bushel.
“It is now two months since
we raised this issue, and the promised announcement by the Department is
overdue,” Ruth said. “With soybean prices at historic low levels, and with the
massively devalued Brazilian Real continuing to distort soybean production and
trade, this is not the time to undercut the only income protection provided to
U.S. soybean producers.”
For
more information contact:
Bart Ruth, ASA President, 402-542-2181, bdruth@alltel.net
John
Gordley, ASA Washington Representative, 202-969-7040, jgordley@gordley.com
Bob Callanan, ASA Communications Director, bcallanan@soy.org
314-754-1291
American Soybean Association
12125 Woodcrest Executive Drive, Suite 100
St. Louis, MO 63141
Phone: 314-576-1770, Fax: 314-576-2786