[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 59 (Tuesday, May 12, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4711-S4712]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, EXTENSION AND EDUCATION REFORM ACT OF 1998
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today, the Senate passed the conference
agreement on S. 1150, the Agricultural Research, Extension, and
Education Reform Act of 1998. I am pleased that this important
legislation, containing several amendments I authored, has seen its way
to the Senate floor for proper and overdue consideration and passage.
Mr. President, the agricultural provisions of this bill are important
for all farmers but I am especially proud of the provisions targeted to
support our endangered small farmers.
Mr. President, this country is facing a national farming crisis. Day
after day, season after season, we are losing small farms at an
alarming rate. In 1980, there were 45,000 dairy farms in Wisconsin. In
1997, there are only 24,000 dairy farms. That is a loss of more than 3
dairy farms a day-everyday for 17 years. And it does not begin to
measure the human cost to families driven from the land. As small farms
disappear, we are witnessing the emergence of larger agricultural
operations. This trend toward fewer but larger dairy operations is
mirrored in most States throughout the Nation.
Mr. President, the economic losses associated with the reduction in
the number of small farms go well beyond the impact on the individual
farm families who must wrench themselves from the land. The reduction
in farm numbers has hurt their neighbors as well and deprived the
merchants on the main streets of their towns of many lifelong
customers. For many of the rural communities of Wisconsin, small
family-owned farms are the key component of the community. They provide
economic and sound stability. They are good people and we need a system
in which their farms are viable and their work can be fairly rewarded.
Many feel that basic research is a necessary and underutilized tool
that can help to save this dying breed of farmers. There have been
plenty of Federal investments in agricultural research, past and
present, focusing almost solely on the needs of larger scale
agricultural producers-neglecting the specific research needs of small
producers. This research bias has hamstrung small farmers, depriving
them of the tools they need to adapt to changes in farming and the
marketplace and accelerating the trend toward increased concentration.
To address this concern, I worked with the conference committee to
include a provision which authorizes a coordinated program of research,
extension, and education to improve the viability of small- and medium-
size dairy and livestock operations. Among the research projects the
Secretary is authorized to conduct are: Research, development, and on-
farm education, low-cost production facilities, management systems and
genetics appropriate for these small and medium operations, research
and extension on management intensive grazing systems which reduce feed
costs and improve farm profitability, research and extension on
integrated crop and livestock systems that strengthen the competitive
position of small- and medium-size operations, economic analyses and
feasibility studies to identify new marketing opportunities for small-
and medium-size producers, technology assessment that compares the
technological resources of large specialized producers with the
technological needs of small- and medium-size dairy and livestock
operations, and research to identify the specific research and
education needs of these small operations.
The provision allows the Secretary to carry out this new program
using existing USDA funds, facilities and technical expertise. Dairy
and livestock producers should not be forced to become larger in order
to remain competitive. Bigger is not necessarily better. And in fact,
M. President, expansion is often counterproductive for small
operations, requiring them to take on even greater debt. Farmers need
more help in determining other methods of maintaining long-term
profitability. For example, small dairy farmers may find adoption of
management-intensive grazing systems, combined with a diversified
cropping operation a profitable alternative to expansion. But there has
been far too little federally funded research devoted to alternative
livestock production systems. Small producers need more Federal
research and extension activity devoted to the development of these
alternatives. This amendment is a good first step in establishing the
Federal research commitment to help develop and promote production and
marketing systems that specifically address the needs of small
producers.
Using research dollars to help maintain the economic viability of
small- and medium-size dairy and livestock operations has benefits
beyond those gained by farmers and the communities in which they
reside. Keeping a large number of small operations in production can
provide environmental benefits as well. As livestock operations expand
their herd size without a corresponding increase in cropping acreage,
manure storage and management practices become more costly and more
burdensome for the operator and raise additional regulatory concerns
associated with runoff and water quality among State and Federal
regulators. Research that helps dairy and livestock operators remain
competitive and profitable without dramatic expansion will help
minimize these concerns.
[[Page S4712]]
Mr. President, also incorporated into the bill is language requiring
the Secretary to fund research on the competitiveness and viability of
small- and medium-size farms under the Initiative for Future
Agriculture and Food Systems--a new research program authorized by S.
1150 and funded at a total of $600 million for fiscal years 1999
through 2002. With the inclusion of my amendment, the Secretary is
directed to make grants for research projects addressing the viability
of small- and medium-size farming operations with funding made
available under the Initiative in fiscal years 1999-2002. This
amendment ensures that the research needs of small dairy, livestock,
and cropping operations will be addressed under the substantial new
funding provided for agricultural research in this bill.
Finally, Mr. President, the conference committee also accepted
important language regarding precision agriculture. Precision
agriculture is a system of farming that uses very site-specific
information on soil nutrient needs and presence of plant pests, often
gathered using advanced technologies such as global positioning
systems, high performance image processing, and software systems to
determine the specific fertilizer, pesticide and other input needs of a
farmer's cropland. This technology may have the benefit of lowering
farm production costs and increase profitability by helping the
producer reduce agricultural inputs by applying them only where needed.
In addition, reducing agricultural inputs may minimize the impact of
crop production on wildlife and the environment. While precision
agriculture, generally defined, encompasses a broad range of techniques
from high-technology satellite imaging systems to manual soil sampling,
it is most frequently discussed in terms of the use of capital
intensive advanced technologies.
Precision agriculture may result in production efficiencies and
improved profitability for some farms, yet many in agriculture are
concerned that, because of the capital intensive nature of precision
agriculture systems, this new technology will not be applicable or
accessible to small or highly diversified farms. It is unclear whether
precision agriculture services, even if provided by input suppliers,
will be available at affordable rates to small farms. Furthermore, some
observers are concerned that private firms may find that marketing
efforts directed at small farms are not lucrative enough and thus may
avoid efforts to apply the technology to small operations.
In addition to concerns about the applicability and accessibility of
precision agriculture to small farms, many are concerned that precision
agriculture may not be the most appropriate production system for small
farms given the costs of acquiring new technology or contracting for
additional services. There may be other production systems, such as
integrated whole farm crop, livestock, and resource management systems,
that allow small farmers to reduce input costs, improve profitability,
and minimize environmental impacts of agricultural production that are
more appropriate for smaller operations.
To address this concern, accepted language allows USDA to fund
studies evaluating whether precision agriculture technologies are
applicable or accessible to small- and medium-sized farms. The
amendment also allows USDA to conduct research on methods to improve
the applicability of precision agriculture to these operations. It is
critical that USDA's research investment in this new technology not
exclude the needs of small farmers. If it does, this new research
program could ultimately affect the structure of agriculture,
potentially providing disproportionate advantages to large scale
farming operations, accelerating the trend to fewer and larger farms.
My amendment will allow USDA to conduct research on low cost precision
agriculture systems that do not require significant financial
investments by farmers and that may be more appropriate to small or
highly diversified farming operations.
Mr. President, I appreciate the cooperation of the chairman, Mr.
Lugar, and the ranking member, Mr. Harkin, of the Agriculture Committee
and their staff in addressing the important research needs of small-
and medium-size farms by maintaining these amendments during conference
committee consideration of this bill.
These amendments will ensure that research money is directed at the
interests of the small farmer providing the tools to make these
operations viable to survive the riggers of farming in the next
century.
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