Washington, DC – In a speech today on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) outlined his reasons for voting against the farm bill, particularly the negative impact the legislation would have on small and medium-sized farm operations and on agricultural exports. The Senate is expected to have a final vote on the bill later this afternoon. The following are excerpts from Senator Hagel’s floor speech:

“The farm bill we debate today is not a new approach, nor is it a new policy. It is a step backward into an antique farm policy of more government command and control. This could have been a good farm bill had it incorporated some of the innovative ideas that had been put forward. Instead, this bill will continue to expand a policy that ensures commodity prices will drop lower and remain low, and that land prices and rents will continue to go up.

As one farmer in Nebraska wrote me yesterday, ‘This farm bill is the same old thing, and will do nothing to reverse the trend of fewer and fewer farmers on the land.’ As another constituent of mine said, ‘This bill will not help farmers – it will only help bushels, bales and pounds.’

Of the many problems with this farm bill, one of the most serious is the lack of real payment limits. Currently, two-thirds of all federal payments go to 10% of the recipients – the largest operators and landowners. These lopsided payments encourage and subsidize overproduction, drive up land prices, land values, rentals, and allow large farm operations to outbid and buy up smaller and mid-sized producers with taxpayer dollars.

This farm bill will only widen the disparity gap between small and large farmers, and it will make it much more difficult in the future to gain Congressional support from non-rural Members of Congress. Without real payment limits, we risk derailing public support for the entire farm program in the future.”

“We cannot overlook the effects this farm bill will have on the cost of farmland. Unlimited government payments will only encourage large farm operations and wealthy, absentee landowners to buy more ground, no matter how low the commodity prices drop. Yet, nearly half of U.S. farmers rent at least some of their farm ground. They will be faced with even higher cash rents.

Also, by relying heavily on increased loan rates, this farm bill does not provide much of a ‘safety net’ for those farmers who fail to produce a crop. That is an important detail considering the severe drought in many parts of the country – including much of western Nebraska.

This legislation seriously impairs the best hope for American agriculture’s long-term viability and vitality – trade. Exports account for 25% of gross cash sales for U.S. farmers and livestock producers over the last 10 years – a projected total of $57 billion for this year. This bill will surely cause significant problems in our trade relationships.

There are many other gaping holes in this bill. The Senate’s ban on packer ownership of livestock was stripped. Farmers Savings Accounts were completely ignored. And by omitting the Senate farm bill's Cuban trade provision, this bill punishes U.S. agriculture by adhering to the counter-productive strategy of using food as a weapon.

America's farmers and ranchers produce the highest quality agricultural goods in the world. As a Nebraskan, I am proud of that effort and record. American agriculture can compete in the world markets. This farm bill should allow U.S. producers the opportunity to compete and succeed – not hold them back and place blockades in front of them.

This farm bill is a glorified carbon copy of market-distorting legislation that will accelerate the vicious cycle of overproduction, low crop prices and soaring land values. The winners will be large agribusiness, big landowners and large farm operations.

This bill will pass. We’ll need to come back and fix it one of these days. Maybe then, we will get it right. I would hope my colleagues think about the consequences of this legislation. This is the wrong farm policy, at the worst possible time.”