[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 103 (Tuesday, July 20, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H5985]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H5985]]
                         CRISIS IN AGRICULTURE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, in Kansas, combines and harvesting 
crews have just finished another annual wheat harvest. While many 
farmers have seen harvests come and go, this one will certainly be one 
to remember.
  Unfortunately, it is the low wheat prices that will not be forgotten. 
Wheat prices recently closed in Goodland, Kansas at $1.96 a bushel, the 
lowest price in over 30 years.
  Let me put this disaster in perspective. In my State of Kansas alone, 
the loss in market value of the wheat crop will be over $500 million 
below last year's dismal level. Let me restate that. In one State, in 
one crop, the lost value is a half a billion dollars when compared to 
last year's income. Nationwide, the losses will be tremendous. In 
Kansas, that is $500 million less that farmers have to pay bills and to 
take care of their families.
  I do not know exactly what disaster relief legislation this year will 
look like, but I must impress upon my fellow Members of Congress the 
seriousness of the circumstance and the ongoing damage to the 
agricultural economy.
  This year, there will be no crop with higher prices that comes to the 
rescue of the wheat farmer. United States Department of Agriculture 
indicates that corn prices are at a 10-year low and soybean prices are 
at a 27-year low, with both prices to decline further by the time of 
their fall harvest.
  This problem, however, is not about numbers, estimates, or 
projections. It is about people. It is about the future of rural 
America and the survival of a generation of our farmers and ranchers.
  Mr. Speaker, I received a letter, for example, from my constituents 
that is pretty typical. ``Dear sir: We are now beginning the 1999 wheat 
harvest in Kansas. The price of wheat here in Ness County is $2.22,'' 
this is back in June, ``as of close of markets on June 19, lower than 
we could sell wheat for in the troubled 80's.
  ``Prices of all our supplies, seeds, fertilizer, et cetera, have rose 
steadily since then and are still going up. Are farmers not supposed to 
have a decent living for all their hard work? We as farmers have every 
right to just as good a living as most blue collar workers in this 
country. Someone, Senators, Representatives, administration, and 
Agriculture Secretary need to spend a little more time and effort to 
improve our circumstances.
  ``Most farmers have land payments coming due in August. Interest on 
them went up again. Payments of harvest expenses, fuel, repairs and 
labor all have to be paid; $2.22 a bushel of wheat does not go very far 
to pay an $8,000 land payment and expect a living expense the rest of 
the year. Farmers cannot be put on hold much longer. Something needs to 
be done now, not 6 months from now.
  ``I have farming interests in Ness and Hodgeman Counties in Kansas. 
My husband passed away in 1992 and my son is trying to hold things 
together. We are just a medium-sized family farm of which there are a 
great many here in the Midwest.''
  As the writer of this letter says, something needs to be done now, 
not 6 months from now.
  Mr. Speaker, on July 1, I joined other Members interested in 
agriculture, Members of this Congress, in a letter to President 
Clinton. In that letter, we outlined our request to work with the 
President and the administration in providing assistance to agriculture 
producers this year.
  Today, I rise to urge all my colleagues in Congress to join in the 
efforts as we work together to try to make certain that we do not lose 
another generation of the American farmer and rancher.

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