FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 6, 2012

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USA Rice Federation Statement on House Agriculture Committee’s Farm Bill Proposal

ARLINGTON, VA – The USA Rice Federation commends House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) for producing a bipartisan farm bill that saves taxpayers money, achieves deficit reduction, and reforms and streamlines farm, conservation, and nutrition policies in a fair and balanced way.  USA Rice is pleased to endorse the House farm bill and looks forward to helping move a comprehensive farm bill forward this year so that producers have an effective farm policy in place for the next crop year.

The House Agriculture Committee’s Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act recognizes that a one-size-fits-all approach to farm policy is not workable for all producers and regions.  Instead the House bill takes the positive step of acknowledging the diverse agriculture sector by offering a meaningful choice of risk management tools for all producers, crops, and regions of the country while working to ensure that the choices offered to producers focus on addressing serious and sustained periods of losses.  The House farm bill’s price loss coverage and revenue loss coverage options allow producers to focus risk management on the primary risk for their crops and region.  USA Rice supports efforts to ensure that both the price loss and revenue loss coverage trigger levels are set at the highest possible levels to provide effective protection against price and revenue declines.

Importantly, while the House bill would lower the adjusted gross income means test for eligibility, the bill would not set punitive levels of payment limitations or alter actively engaged rules established just two years ago after the historic reforms in 2008.  We believe these reforms, achieved with substantial budget savings, are positive for taxpayers and workable for producers.

The U.S. rice industry produces positive impacts on our nation’s balance of trade, the economy and jobs, healthy diets, and conservation, particularly of migratory bird habitat preservation.

The USA Rice Federation represents producers, millers, merchants, exporters, end users and input suppliers doing business in 21 states, with rice produced in 10 of those states, including Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas.

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