Farm Bill

Floor Speech

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Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, America's farmers and ranchers got some good news at the end of last week. After a lot of hard work from members of the Agriculture Committee, Chairman Boozman released the text of a 5-year farm bill, which is slated for a markup tomorrow, and it will, I hope, be headed soon to the floor.

As someone who hails from an ag State who has been part of the drafting of now five farm bills, I know how important the farm bill is and how much work goes into getting it right. As I made clear at the start of this Congress, America's farmers and ranchers are a priority for this Senate majority. That started last year with the Working Families Tax Cuts, which strengthened the farm safety net, bolstered critical farm programs, and delivered tax relief to America's agriculture producers, including relief from the unfair death tax and making the 199A deduction permanent. It continues this year with this farm bill, which builds on the important measures in the Working Families Tax Cuts in order to give farmers and ranchers certainty into the future.

After the Working Families Tax Cuts raised reference prices last year, this farm bill makes further improvements to commodity programs as well as crop insurance--cornerstones of the farm safety net. It modernizes farm loan programs to get America's next generation of farmers and ranchers off to a strong start, and it strengthens other programs that producers depend on. It improves the Emergency Assistance for Livestock Program, so it covers the cost of hauling feed or water and opens the program to producers dealing with drought or other adverse weather conditions.

It includes my CRP Improvement and Flexibility Act, which will make the Conservation Reserve Program a more working lands-oriented option for producers. CRP plays a very significant role in South Dakota's economy by helping to provide habitat for pheasants, but producers in my State have been frustrated for years with how the program is managed--in particular by the fact that its restrictions on land use can be excessive. That is why I introduced the CRP Improvement and Flexibility Act.

My bill allows grazing options, including fencing and water distribution, on all CRP acres. On top of that, it increases the annual CRP payment limits for the first time in the program's 40-year history. This bill will make CRP an attractive option for more producers and open up access for livestock forage in drought conditions.

The farm bill also includes a number of bills I have worked on that make it easier for producers to do business and get their products to market.

It includes a bill that I worked on with Senators Grassley, Klobuchar, and Baldwin that establishes reporting requirements on fertilizer prices, which will bring more transparency to the fertilizer marketplace by helping producers to make more informed and cost- effective choices for their operations.

Another bill of my mine, the Promoting Precision Agriculture Act, will facilitate the creation of industry-led, voluntary standards for precision ag technology that will help more farmers adopt this promising tool.

My Strengthening Local Processing Act gives smaller processors access to critical information and allows more meat products approved by a State inspector to be sold across State lines.

The farm bill is about more than just what happens on a farm or a ranch; it also supports America's rural communities. That includes water infrastructure, rural development, and healthcare, among other critical services. It also includes our continued effort to provide broadband in unserved communities, and I am pleased that this bill will help ensure that broadband dollars are going to communities that need it in places where 90 percent or more of the residents lack access to basic internet services.

There is a lot more I could talk about with this bill--a lot more. This is a bill that will provide real support and certainty for America's farmers and ranchers. That is good news for all Americans who depend on our hard-working producers for food, fuel, and fiber.

Fuel is the final thing I want to discuss this morning. For decades, the seasonal sale of E15 has been a win-win for America's farmers and for the American people. It has strengthened the agriculture economy while providing the American people with an affordable source of homegrown energy.

For many years, it has been a priority for me and for many of my colleagues here to allow E15 to be sold all year. It has taken a lot of work to get here, but I am very proud that this farm bill delivers permanent--permanent--year-round E15. This is something that is going to further help producers and help bring down fuel costs for all Americans.

I want to thank Chairman Boozman as well as Senators Daines, Capito, and Fischer for all of their hard work on this issue. I am looking forward to getting it across the finish line.

I spend a lot of time with farmers and ranchers back home in South Dakota, and they have talked to me about the uncertainty and the headwinds they face. I have listened to their priorities and made them my own. As I said, America's farmers and ranchers are a priority for this Senate majority, and with the Working Families Tax Cuts and now this farm bill, we are making real progress on the challenges facing our producers. But, of course, our work is never finished. There will be more to do in the future to support and strengthen American agriculture, and America's producers can be confident that their needs will always be at the top of my list.
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