Latham Report: Process Underway To Form Next Farm Bill

Statement

The House Agriculture Committee began the lengthy process of putting together a new farm bill during a hearing last week at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. The hearing gave Iowa farmers a chance to tell federal lawmakers how they can refine, reform and improve upon the current farm bill as Congress sets its sights on the next one, which will be finished in 2012.

Although I don't serve on the House Agriculture Committee, I was invited by Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), the committee chairman, to take part in the discussion. Writing the farm bill is an enormous undertaking that is currently in its earliest stages, but some important topics came up during the hearing that I hope play a role in the committee's work as the legislative process picks up steam.

For instance, farmers have pointed out time and again that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been slow to implement major pieces of the current farm bill, which was signed into law two years ago. This fact underscores the shear complexity of the legislation and the bureaucratic headaches it has created for Iowa agriculture. Congress must learn from the shortcomings of the current legislation and consider crafting a simpler, more streamlined policy the next time around. As we've learned with the current bill, as legislation becomes more complex, it gives the USDA more opportunities to complicate things.

Many lawmakers will have a chance to influence the next farm bill as the legislation is pieced together through committee hearings and congressional review. Farmers should keep in mind that many key decision makers in Washington have no direct experience in agriculture and come from districts thousands of miles away from Iowa's rich farmland. Some in Washington will try to use the bill to steer agriculture in directions that will benefit interest groups. That's why it's so important to make sure farmers are the top priority as we begin forming the next bill.

The hearing in Des Moines last week gave lawmakers a chance to listen to Iowa farmers who are impacted by the decisions made in Congress. The process that will lead to a new farm bill has just begun, but the hearing participants raised a number of points that ought to guide Congress in its deliberations. It's my hope that the farm bill that is sent to the president's desk in 2012 will be simpler than the current legislation and aimed at improving American agriculture, which has always been one of the great pillars of our country.

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