Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - April 26, 2007)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

By Mr. TESTER:

S. 1242. A bill to amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act and Farm Security
and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to establish a biofuel pilot program to offer crop insurance to producers of experimental biofuel crops and a program to make loans and loan guarantees to producers of experimental biofuel crops; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I rise here today to introduce the Biofuel Crop Insurance Act to provide a safety net to innovative American farmers.

America's addiction to foreign oil is one of the greatest threats to our national security and our economy. At the same time climate change is threatening the world as we know it. We are experiencing wildly shifting weather patterns, prolonged drought, intense hurricanes and melting glaciers and icecaps. We need to do something to change our energy sources to clean and domestic options, and our farmers and rural communities are leading the way.

Unfortunately, some of the best potential crops for biofuel production lack the same government safety nets like crop insurance and loans that our commodity crops have. This legislation is designed to change that by allowing the USDA to expedite the process for approving insurance to dedicated biofuel crops.

In the last few years the ethanol industry has experienced explosive growth. Ethanol is good for farmers, rural communities and our consumers. I for one would rather buy my fuel from farmers in the Midwest than dictators in the Mideast.

Corn will continue to be king of ethanol for some time. But we need to start using other crops for ethanol and biodiesel production, because if there is one thing that our recent energy crisis has taught us it is that diversity is critical. We need to expand the use of crops that don't compete with our food system that can be grown in different parts of the country, are more affordable, and require fewer inputs than corn.

In Montana, farmers are planting an oil seed crop called camelina because it can be grown on marginal lands, with few inputs, and high profits. Its oil can be crushed and made into biodiesel on farms and small communities' rural landscapes. Camelina can be used in rotation with other crops such as wheat and barley and bring new money and new development to rural States like Montana, Washington, Idaho, and the Dakotas. Montana State University is one of several academic institutions that have done extensive research into the crop in regards to what it needs to grow, where to grow it, and what farmers can expect it to produce. All their tests are positive and this year we expect that up to 20,000 acres of camelina will be planted in Montana alone. Unfortunately, farmers are hesitant to seize this opportunity because they lack an insurance safety net, and their banks won't loan them money to plant crops that aren't insured.

Being a farmer myself, I know how agriculture is beholden to Mother Nature. A dry year, a bad hail storm or a late frost can destroy a year's worth of work. Farmers need safety nets, not handouts. Crop insurance is a market mechanism that can mitigate risk for farmers. The legislation I'm introducing today will be directly responsible for extensive growth of camelina, and the emergence of a biodiesel industry for States like Montana.

If I wasn't here right now, I would be sitting on my tractor in Big Sandy, MT, planting oil seed crops on my farm and learning how to process and crush oil seeds to make biodiesel. I use 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel a year on my farm, and anxiously await the day when I can use fuel grown on my land or bought from my neighbors instead of imported from overseas.

This bill sets up a pilot insurance program for dedicated biofuel crops that displace petroleum products, and provides loans for stabilization of farm income and marketing assistance. It also creates grants for research into planting and harvesting techniques and grants to study the use of biofuel meal used as animal feeds.

I believe this bill will spark a biodiesel industry across the Northern Great Plains and I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation as it moves forward.

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