U.S. Farm Policy Ensures Farm and Food Stability below Projected Costs

ARLINGTON, VA, September 15, 2006 — The 2002 Farm Bill — Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 — is working in the fiscally responsible, counter-cyclical manner for which it was designed, and as a result, has saved taxpayers almost $17 billion over its first four years of operation, USA Rice Federation Chairman Al Montna said today.

“That the Farm Bill benefits American consumers is apparent in every trip to a grocery, where costs of the highest-quality foods are among the lowest in the world on a per capita basis,” Montna said. The Farm Bill is clearly not a budget buster on any level.”

Actual costs under the 2002 Farm Bill have come in under budget for each of the four completed fiscal years, 2002-2005, averaging more than 20 percent below Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections, and more than 32 percent below the pre-2002 farm policy average, according to CBO numbers and its latest August 2006 Budget Baseline.

“This budget picture resulting from our current farm policy shows that the Farm Bill is working and should be continued,” USA Rice Producers’ Group Chairman Paul T. Combs. “We are urging Congress to extend the 2002 Farm Bill,” Combs said. “The Farm Bill represents fiscally responsible farm policy that provides support in a consistent and predictable manner, helping in a large measure to create a stable, low-cost food supply for American consumers. The Farm Bill also helps ensure a strong farm safety net for producers and our lenders,” he said.

Over four years into the six-year farm bill, total costs are almost $17 billion below projections, while the Farm Bill’s commodity title programs (marketing loan, direct payments, and counter-cyclical payments) alone are almost $19 billion below projections.

Adding the latest projected levels of costs for fiscal years 2006 and 2007, taxpayers are still projected to save over $14 billion over the 6-year life of the 2002 Farm Bill.

See the USA Rice Web site for a summary document detailing the CBO August Budget Baseline, including budgeted program levels and actual spending levels for farm bill programs.

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Contacts: Reece Langley, (703) 236-1471, rlangley@usarice.com and David Coia, (703) 236-1444, dcoia@usarice.com

USA Rice Federation is the national advocate for all segments of the rice industry, conducting activities to influence government programs, developing and initiating programs to increase worldwide demand for U.S. rice, and providing other services to increase profitability for all industry segments.