[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 74 (Friday, May 25, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S5711]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CRAIG (for himself, Mr. Burns, Mr. Baucus, Ms. Cantwell, 
        Mr. Conrad, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Johnson, 
        and Mrs. Murray):
  S. 977. A bill to amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to 
require the Secretary of Agriculture to make nonrecourse marketing 
assistance loans and loan deficiency payments available to producers of 
dry peas, lentils, and chickpeas; to the Committee on Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the ``Dry Pea, 
Lentil, and Chickpea Marketing Assistance Loan Act,'' a bill to 
authorize a marketing loan program and loan deficiency payments, or 
LDPs, for pulse crops which include peas, lentils, and chickpeas. I am 
pleased that Senators Burns, Baucus, Cantwell, Conrad, Crapo, Daschle, 
Dorgan, Johnson and Murray have joined as original cosponsors.
  Pulses are grown across the northern tier of the United States. 
Traditionally pulses have been grown as a rotation crop that provides 
benefit to the soil, by fixing nitrogen, breaking weed and disease 
cycles, and reducing the need for field burning. Dryland farmers in 
northern Idaho for years have rotated wheat, canola, and dry peas, 
lentils or chickpeas. As prices have dropped for all commodities, 
including pulses, we have seen a shift in production patterns which 
have decreased the production of dry peas and lentils.
  Current wheat prices are no better than dry pea prices, pound for 
pound, but a banker will lend money to a grower of wheat and oilseeds 
because there is a loan program and LDP. The depressed markets have 
forced dryland farmers across the northen tier of the United States to 
abandon pulses in favor of traditional farm program crops like wheat, 
oilseeds, and barley.
  This bill attempts to remedy this situation by creating a loan rate 
for dry peas, lentils, and chickpeas with support equivalent to the 
loan programs for spring wheat and canola. The bill mirrors existing 
statutory authority for the loan programs established for other crops 
by creating floor prices based from 85 percent of a five-year Olympic 
average. The approximate cost of the bill, and benefits to pulse 
growers, would be about $8.5 million annually.
  When we passed the last farm bill, the goal was to have farmers farm 
the land and not the programs. As prices have dropped, we are again 
seeing planting decisions made based on the programs available, which 
has made pulse crops less attractive in a rotation. As we begin the 
process of reauthorizing the farm bill, we will work to make sure that 
pulses are included so that farmers will be competitive with other 
crops grown in the area.
  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I rise today as a proud cosponsor of this 
amendment to the Agricultural Market Transition Act. It would require 
the Secretary of Agriculture to make nonrecourse marketing assistance 
loans and loan deficiency payments available to producers of dry peas, 
lentils, and chickpeas.
  This amendment will go a long way toward giving producers of these 
commodities an equal opportunity to obtain the same financial 
opportunities as other producers now receive.
  We encourage our producers to grow what is often referred to as 
alternative crops. Producers have listened and they are successfully 
marketing these crops. The actions of this bill will now provide these 
innovative producers with the same economic benefits as producers of 
other crops. These farmers have dared to try something different and 
the least we can do is support them for they're daring.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues on this legislation.
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