Daschle said the Farm Bill he intends to bring to the Senate floor later this week is the stimulus bill for rural America. While the American economy has been faltering for a few months, the rural economy has been lagging behind the overall economy for years. Daschle said this is demonstrated by the fact that, last month, the USDA announced the largest single-month drop in commodity prices ever in the 91 years since the department has been keeping track.

"America's farmers and rural communities are in trouble. Our agricultural producers need a jumpstart, and the new Senate farm bill we are considering this week makes real investments in rural America and changes the way these investments are made," Daschle said. "Our bill supports agriculture producers, provides assistance for conservation programs, and creates greater assistance for nutrition programs in a way that makes more sense than current law."

Daschle said the bill supports producers of all commodities to a greater extent than the current farm bill, and it reforms the system by providing assistance to the producers who really need it instead of making payments regardless of what farmers do on their land. Daschle said the bill also includes an important counter-cyclical income safety net to ensure farm income stabilization by providing more support in tough years and less support in good years.

Daschle said that greater assistance for conservation programs will help prevent overproduction and protect precious land by providing incentives to take land out of production. He added that the increased support for nutrition programs (almost twice what the House provides) makes important improvements to the food stamp program that will help low-income working families stay off welfare, and help welfare families make the transition from welfare to work.

"Agriculture is a cornerstone of the American way of life. Agriculture-related businesses account for a full ten percent of our Gross National Product. Agriculture supports about 22 million American jobs, and 20 percent of Americans live in rural areas," Daschle said. "We need to strengthen the industry that strengthens America, and to do that we need a farm policy that provides the continuity our farmers need, with the safety net they deserve. We need to pass this bill without delay for the farmers in South Dakota, and across America."