ST. LOUIS, July 25, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) applauds Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) for introducing today the Farm Safety Net Improvement Act of 2007, legislation that advocates a state-level revenue protection program complemented with individual-level private crop insurance.
"Senators Durbin and Brown are helping take farm policy to a new level by introducing legislation that is forward-looking and emphasizes a market-based farm program," said Ken McCauley, NCGA president. "A revenue-based farm policy is one that corn growers have been advocating for the past year, and we are happy this legislation will hit the Senate floor in the coming weeks."
NCGA has been promoting a county-based revenue countercyclical program. Durbin and Brown's proposal takes concepts in NCGA's plan and applies them to the state level. A government payment is triggered when a farmer's actual revenue (price x yield) falls below 90 percent of the forecasted state target revenue for a specific crop.
"While NCGA continues to advocate a county-based revenue program for the 2007 farm bill, the Durbin-Brown proposal is a step in the right direction in reforming farm policy," McCauley said. "We will continue to work with Congress to pass a farm bill that is fair for all producers while providing a strong safety net."
Private insurance is integrated with the state program, operating much like it does now. The insurance covers a farmer's individual revenue losses beyond what the government covers. In doing so, farmers will see a significant decrease in their crop insurance premiums.
NCGA is working with American Farmland Trust to promote the revenue-based farm program.
The Durbin-Brown proposal most likely will be an amendment to farm bill legislation that comes out of the Senate Agriculture Committee, which is anticipated to begin marking up its version of a farm bill after the August recess. The House debates its farm bill Thursday.
The National Corn Growers Association's mission is to create and increase opportunities for corn growers. NCGA represents more than 32,000 members and 47 affiliated state organizations and hundreds of thousands of growers who contribute to state checkoff programs. For more information on NCGA, log on to www.ncga.com.