The World Envies The American Farmer
February 10, 2009 Saying she is in a perfect position to shape agriculture, incoming National Cotton Council Chairman Larry McClendon introduced Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) as the keynote speaker at the NCC’s annual meeting general session.
“Senator Lincoln has worked tirelessly to ensure that farm policy is balanced between commodities,” said McClendon. “She is effective because she works in a bi-partisan manner and understands the importance of building coalitions. She met individually with her colleagues to ensure sound farm policy and explained the reasons for her concerns about overly restrictive payment limitations.”
Lincoln is a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and is chairman of the Subcommittee on Production, Income Protection and Price Support.
“I am from an Arkansas farm family, of which I am enormously proud,” said Lincoln. “When I went to Washington, I found myself – first on the House Ag Committee and then the Senate Ag Committee – as someone who had actually walked on a rice levee and scouted cotton. I had been in a soybean field with a machete to chop down coffeebean plants. Quite frankly, I knew just enough to be dangerous. That was a good thing.”
Lincoln said that one of the first lessons she learned is that agriculture is now global. “It’s just as important to reach across the ocean as it is to reach across the county line,” she explained. “Trade, I knew, was going to be very important.”
Having been involved in the debate and passage of two farm bills, she said: “In 2002, we did a pretty good job. We set up responsible commodity programs so that if prices and yields are good, you don’t need government help. We saved the government about $25 billion.”
Difficult Debate
But her third farm bill debate has been more difficult. “Farm critics’ attention has been to pose additional provisions on the Senate floor to drastically limit our farm payments and create a means test based on our farmers’ income,” Lincoln explained.
The problem, she said, is that many in Washington don’t understand agriculture and don’t want to: “At times, I admit, I take things a little personally, because I do feel it’s unfair to call into question the integrity of our farmers in the southern region of our nation.
“But let’s not forget that all of the hard-working farm families are the envy of the world. Not only do you produce your commodities in the most efficient and effective way, you do it by keeping the cost of our food and fiber the lowest per capita of any developed country in the world.”
Captions:
Senator Blanche Lincoln addresses the general session.
Larry McClendon and June Mann.
The late Lon Mann
From left: Chairman Van Murphy, President Chris Breedlove, First Vice President Sledge Taylor, Second Vice President Kirk Gilkey and Third Vice President Kent Fountain.
John Maguire
Bill Norman
Curtis Griffith
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