NCGA President Leads Farm Bill Effort (11-08-01)

The chairman's mark-up continued yesterday in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, and approved a modified version of the Trade title of S. 1628, Sen. Tom Harkin's, D-Iowa, farm bill. Tim Hume, a farmer from Walsh, Colo., and president of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), is in Washington, D.C., to lead the association's effort as work on farm bill gains momentum in the Senate.

"We have seen a lot of action on the farm bill during the past two weeks, and I am pleased that we are a part of the process," Hume said. . "The work NCGA has done on the farm bill is paving the way for legislation that fits within our trade obligations, without distorting price and production. We are very pleased with the work Sen. Harkin did on increasing the funding for the FMD (foreign market development) program."

FMD helps educate international customers how to buy agricultural goods from the United States, and is an important component of NCGA's farm bill proposal. Harkin's bill includes funding for FMD of $42.5 million per year after a gradual ramp-up of funding.

The committee continues mark-up today on the Research and Rural Development sections of the bill. Sen. Harkin then hopes to move on to the Conservation title on Friday morning. The Senate is out of session on Monday, Nov. 12, in observance of Veterans' Day. Action will pick up on Tuesday when the committee focuses on the Nutrition title, and hopefully complete the Conservation, Commodity and Concentration titles. Harkin may complete mark-up next week.

To read the text of Sen. Harkin's farm bill proposal, see the legislative action center on NCGA's web page.

Last reviewed November 8, 2001