Illinois Farm Bureau commends Senate, House ag committees on passage of farm bill

[May 20, 2013]  BLOOMINGTON -- Calling it an important step in securing the future and stability of American agriculture, the Illinois Farm Bureau is applauding the U.S. Senate and House agriculture committees on their passage of bipartisan farm bills.

"Farmers throughout Illinois depend on the farm bill to help provide stability and manage risk in what is often a risky profession," said Philip Nelson, president of the Illinois Farm Bureau.

In particular, Nelson pointed out enhanced crop insurance provisions in the Senate version of the bill.

"Crop insurance is essential for effective risk management," Nelson said. "That was borne out during the 2012 drought. There are no federal farm disaster programs in place. Purchasing crop insurance will enable many farmers who lost crops in the drought to farm for another year."

The Senate bill would reduce the federal deficit by $23 billion by ending direct payments. The House bill would reduce the federal deficit by roughly $40 billion.

The committees' approval of the farm bill is just the first step in the process, added Nelson. Now that the bill has made it through both committees, both the Senate and House must call, vote on and pass their respective bills before the two can be combined and sent to President Obama to be signed into law.

"We want to commend Illinois Representatives Rodney Davis (R-13th District), William Enyart (D-12th District) and Cheri Bustos (D-17th District) for their hard work in passing this bill," Nelson said. "We urge both the Senate and House to move quickly in bringing this legislation to the floor and voting on it. It's an important piece of legislation that farmers and consumers alike depend on."

The Illinois Farm Bureau is a member of the American Farm Bureau Federation, a national organization of farmers and ranchers. Founded in 1916, IFB is a nonprofit, membership organization controlled by farmers who join through their county farm bureaus. IFB has a total membership of 412,177, a voting membership of 82,550 and represents 2 out of 3 Illinois farmers.

[Text from file received from Illinois Farm Bureau]