[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 135 (Thursday, October 1, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H9210-H9211]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                PLIGHT FACING FARMERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Speaker, I want to address my colleagues this 
afternoon on an issue that is absolutely vital, not just vital to the 
State of North Dakota, that I represent, but vital to the rural 
dimension of this country of ours, and that is the plight facing 
farmers right across the country due to the collapse of commodity 
prices.
  What has made the problem so particularly acute this year over 
preceding years is that, as prices have fallen, we have learned the 
failing of the last farm bill all too clearly. There is no longer a 
safety net when prices collapse, and the farmers are hitting the deck 
all across the country.
  For years, farm policy in this country recognized that there were a 
couple of areas of risk that a family farmer could not individually 
deal with. One of the risks was the loss of production due to an act of 
God. A hail storm comes along and wipes out the field. It does not 
matter how good someone is at farming, that is a risk they cannot 
control.
  The other type of risk was the risk of price collapse; depending upon 
the particular vagaries of the world market in a given period of time. 
An individual could be the best farmer in the county, but if prices 
plunged so that at the county elevator they are not even getting the 
cost of production, they are going to have trouble feeding their family 
in the winter ahead.
  Well, we had a farm bill last time that represented the most 
significant change in agriculture policy in four decades. I voted 
against it. I voted against it because I believed it left farmers with 
bare exposure to these risks and was vitally unfair in that important 
respect. This afternoon I want us to focus in particular on the aspect 
of price protection, because this is the single largest peril facing 
family farmers this fall.
  As many of us read about the growing financial difficulties in Asia, 
we did not really understand what that would mean to our economy. Well, 
let me tell my colleagues, the first aspect of our economy to get this 
square in the face was agriculture, because 45 percent of the 
agriculture exports in this country went to Asia. They quit buying our 
Ag

[[Page H9211]]

exports and prices have fallen dramatically. Exports to Asia are down 
30 percent. Our major customers walked away from 30 percent of what 
they had previously bought from us. Imagine the impact on price.
  This was made even worse by the fact that across the world production 
of farm commodities was quite strong. So we have way more supply than 
we used to have, and the result is a lot of supply, slack demand, and 
prices tanking.
  Now, unlike preceding years, where we had the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture there to help farmers through these tough times, provide 
some cushion, we no longer have that safety net. We just have farmers 
taking it and taking it without any relief whatsoever.
  Let me try to put this in some perspective. Two years ago, as this 
farm bill just came into effect, the price of wheat was $1.66 per 
bushel above what it is today. Average price at the county elevator 
this month in North Dakota is $2.70 a bushel. We used to provide price 
protection down to $4 a bushel. I am not suggesting going back to the 
old farm bill, but I am suggesting we have to have some protection for 
farmers when prices collapse. For a farmer to get $1.66 a bushel less 
is just catastrophic.
  What are we thinking of doing about it in this particular Congress? 
We are putting together a disaster bill that will be wrapped into the 
Ag appropriations bill. We may be voting on it as early as tomorrow. 
But here is where it falls short. The relief it provides to farmers, in 
light of these collapsed prices, is nominal, insignificant, does not 
make them whole, will not keep them on the farms.
  Let me give my colleagues the hard reality. $1.66 collapse in prices 
on wheat. The farm bill relief proposed by the Republican majority will 
help farmers to 13 cents a bushel. Their price plunge is $1.66 a 
bushel; we are going to help them up to 13 cents a bushel. That does 
not cover the cost of production. That does not cover the cost they 
have sunk into their crop. That is not going to get the job done for 
our farmers.
  It is not just wheat that is in trouble. The relief for corn will be 
7 cents a bushel. The relief for soybeans will be 2 cents a bushel. 
This is not help. We issue a press release: Big Ag relief package 
coming through Congress. It is almost worse than nothing because it 
falls so far short of what is required.
  My colleagues, stand with me and help us build a relief package for 
our farmers that actually means something and will help them get 
through the winter.

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