Pennsylvania Ag Connection - Farmers Discuss Critical Ag Issues with Congressional Delegation

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Farmers Discuss Critical Ag Issues with Congressional Delegation
Pennsylvania Ag Connection - 03/12/2010

Farmers from across Pennsylvania traveled to Washington D.C. seeking support from Pennsylvania's Congressional Delegation to push for clarification of federal motor carrier regulations and new legislation that would restore reasonable exemptions for farm vehicles. In addition, farmers participating in Pennsylvania Farm Bureau's (PFB) 2010 National Legislation Conference expressed concerns over health care reform legislation, the need to assist dairy farmers by aggressively pursuing changes to the current Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) system and opposition to legislation that would provide the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with excessive regulatory authority over state government agencies, farms and other businesses within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

"Pennsylvania farmers are under fire from new and proposed regulations that threaten their livelihoods and deficiencies in programs and legislation that cast doubt on their future. We are looking to our Congressional Delegation to enact legislation and pursue policies that resolve challenging issues facing agriculture, while also addressing legitimate consumer, environmental and business concerns," said PFB President Carl T. Shaffer.

Farmers have urged Pennsylvania's Congressional Delegation to pass H.R. 1220, which would remove the USDOT threat from withholding federal funds from states that don't regulate agricultural vehicles as commercial motor vehicles and increase the weight limit for commercial vehicles to 26,001 pounds from the current 17,001 pounds.

Farmers have asked lawmakers to oppose legislation introduced by Maryland Senator Benjamin Cardin (S. 1816) and Maryland Representative Elijah Cummings (H.R. 3852), which would grant EPA expanded regulatory authority on the waters of the Chesapeake Bay under the Clean Water Act. "Farmers are especially concerned about how the federal legislation could bolster EPA's involvement in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, where we believe new requirements could bring agricultural enterprises and business development to a halt by requiring more permitted farming operations, increasing permitting fees and placing cost-prohibitive restrictions on Pennsylvania farms, while doing very little to improve water quality. Pennsylvania has made great strides in improving water quality over the past two decades by implementing practices that reduce runoff and nutrients from farmland. That positive trend is expected to continue as farmers participate in new and existing programs to install conservation projects and implement other environmental practices," added Shaffer.

PFB noted that farm families, like all Americans, are concerned about having quality health coverage at an affordable cost. "Farmers, who are self-employed and pay their own health care insurance, recognize that some health care reform is needed, but they maintain that the latest version of reform falls short of what is needed and could place an economic burden on the nation's treasury. One area of concern farmers point to is that the current legislation does not adequately address lawsuit abuses (tort reform), which tremendously increase health care costs," continued Shaffer.

While milk prices paid to dairy farmers have rebounded from dismal levels last year, Pennsylvania's milk producers continue to struggle as they attempt to stay in business and payoff massive debt accumulated during 2009. Although there are various efforts underway to address the dairy pricing issue, changing the FMMO is at the top of the list. "Our goal is for milk prices to better reflect market conditions and better reflect regional differences in the cost of production. We want to ensure that dairy farmers are being paid what they legitimately deserve for the milk they produce," concluded Shaffer.