“Our goal over the past two years has been to implement the 2002 Farm Bill as quickly and efficiently as possible. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of USDA employees across the country, we have implemented 95 percent of the bill and the few remaining provisions are nearing completion,” Veneman said. “The 2002 Farm Bill provides record funding for conservation programs on working farmlands, includes programs to create and maintain jobs in our rural communities and the first ever energy title, which supports the President’s energy plan.”

During a hearing today by the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Commodities and Risk Management on the 2002 Farm Bill implementation, USDA Chief Economist Keith Collins said that to date over $15 billion in payments has been issued for commodity program payments, such as direct, countercyclical, loan deficiency, peanut quota buyout and milk income loss contract (MILC).

Collins explained that when USDA began implementing the 2002 Farm Bill in the summer of 2002, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had slipped below 8,000, the price of corn was under $2 per bushel, soybeans were under $5 per bushel and cotton was selling for 35 cents per pound. The farm economy had been weak for so long, beginning with the 1998 crops, many suggested such prices might be the norm for the future.

“The story today is remarkably different, as the U.S. agricultural economy has sharply rebounded. Net cash farm income was a record high in 2003 and producers are having another strong income year in 2004,” Collins said. “The index of prices received by farmers in April was the highest for any month since USDA started keeping records in 1910. Prices have strengthened despite generally good U.S. harvests in 2003 and disruptions in livestock and poultry trade caused by animal diseases.”

Other highlights of the 2002 Farm Bill implementation include:

Conservation: USDA is implementing the largest conservation effort in USDA history. One new sign up for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has been held. The revamped Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) was launched last May. USDA implemented the Farm and Ranchland Conservation Programs and the Grassland Reserve Program. To help the implementation process, a rule on technical service providers was issued, which makes available non-Federal and private sector providers of technical assistance. USDA is in the process of developing the final rule implementing the Conservation Security Program (CSP) devoted to working lands and plans to have it up and running this summer.

Energy: The 2002 Farm Bill included the first ever energy title. USDA awarded grants under the joint USDA/Department of Energy (DOE) Biomass Research and Development Program, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Program and the Biodiesel Fuel Education Program. USDA issued the final rule for the Commodity Credit Corporation bioenergy program, which is used to encourage ethanol and bio-diesel production. In addition, USDA issued a proposed rule for the Federal Biobased Product Preferred Procurement Program (FB-4P), which will require all Federal agencies to give priority to biobased products in their procurements.

Rural Development: USDA has implemented the broadband program, rural local television and value-added agricultural product development programs. A proposed rule has been issued for guaranteeing electric and telephone notes, and USDA is implementing the Rural Business Investment Program with the Small Business Administration.

International School Lunch: USDA has issued a final rule implementing the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program.

Nutrition: USDA implemented Food Stamp rule changes which simplify the program and allow many legal aliens to be eligible for program benefits on the same basis that citizens are eligible.

Collins also said that USDA is working aggressively to implement the provisions of Section 10708 of the 2002 Farm Bill dealing with the compilation and public disclosure of data to assess and hold USDA accountable for the nondiscriminatory participation of socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers in the Department’s programs and will be issuing a report to Congress in the next several months.

A complete list of first and second year accomplishments is located at www.usda.gov.

#