[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 41 (Thursday, March 13, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E459-E460]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  FAMILY FARM AND RANCH INNOVATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 13, 2003

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, today, I am again introducing 
legislation to help ensure our nation's family farms and ranches 
continue to produce the agricultural products that have made us the 
breadbasket for the world.
  Small family farms and ranches helped build the foundation of 
America. Thomas Jefferson once wrote in a letter to George Washington, 
``Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end 
contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness.'' Today 
many small farms and ranches have disappeared. This is in part because 
the smaller farms and ranches have not been able to change to more 
profitable means of production. To continue as a viable business in 
agriculture farmers and ranchers need to be able to use modern 
techniques that increase profitability, and do it in a manner that is 
environmentally sound.
  The Family Farm and Ranch Innovation Act (FFRJA) would provide 
necessary tools for small agriculture businesses to modernize and 
become more competitive in today's market, access to credit and a plan 
to turn the credit into increased revenue.
  The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Commission on Small 
Farms report titled A Time to Act found, ``The underlying trend toward 
small farm decline reflects fundamental technological and market 
changes. Simply put, conventional agriculture adds less and less value 
to food and fiber on the farm and more and more in the input and post-
harvest sectors. We spend more on capital and inputs to enable fewer 
people to produce the Nation's food and look primarily to off farm 
processing to produce higher value products. Sustainable agriculture 
strives to change this trend by developing knowledge and strategies by 
which farmers can capture a large share of the agricultural dollar by 
using management skills to cut input costs--so a large share of the 
prices they receive for their products remain in their own pockets--and 
by producing products of higher value right from the farm.'' (In 
context of the report farms include ranches.)
  The innovation plans in FFRIA, to be developed with the USDA's 
Natural Resources Conservation Service, would provide the blueprints to 
increase the value of farm and ranch outputs.
  The report also found, ``Agricultural operations require high levels 
of committed capital to achieve success. The capital-intensive nature 
of agricultural production makes access to financial capital, usually, 
in the form of credit, a critical requirement. Small farms are no 
different from larger farms in this regard, but testimony and USDA 
reports received by this Commission indicate a general under-
capitalization of small farms, and increased difficulty in accessing 
sources of credit.'' If small farms and ranches are going to use 
improved technologies laid out in innovation plans they will need 
capital. The Small Business Administration's 7(a) loan program has a 
long history of helping small businesses and would be a great tool for 
small farmers and ranchers to implement their plans.

  America's small farms and ranches need a hand up to remain viable in 
our rapidly changing marketplace. Often today's small agriculture 
businesses are family owned and have only a very small profit margin. 
The combination of low market prices for raw agricultural commodities 
and the rising cost of land means that many of these businesses cannot 
afford

[[Page E460]]

to carry on. And that causes more urbanization of valuable farm and 
ranch land.
  This legislation recognizing the importance of our small farming and 
ranching businesses. They provide diversity in the market place, local 
production of food, less pollution, and jobs, all of which strengthen 
our economy. And, farms and ranches that are part of our community 
remind us that food and other agricultural products don't just come 
from stores, and remind us of our connection to the land.
  Mr. Speaker, small farms and ranches have provided the livelihood for 
many families since the beginning of our country. This bill will help 
ensure small farms and ranches do not become a thing of the past by 
providing the technical expertise and capital to allow them to meet the 
challenges of the 21st Century.

            Fact Sheet--Family Farm and Ranch Innovation Act

       Summary: Bill would authorize the USDA to assist Small 
     farmers and ranchers who want to improve their operations by 
     developing Innovation Plans and would authorize the Small 
     Business Administration to provide loan guarantees to 
     implement these plans.


                             Loan Authority

       Bill authorizes the Administrator of the Small Business 
     Administration to guarantee, under section 7(a) of the Small 
     Business Act, loans to small businesses engaged in farming 
     and ranching, for the purpose of implementing Agricultural 
     Innovation Plans.


                     Agricultural Innovation Plans

       Plans are to be developed on request of a farmer or rancher 
     whose operation has been certified as a small business 
     concern under the definition of the Small Business 
     Administration.
       Plans are designed to increase the on-farm or on-ranch 
     income of small farmers or ranchers and protect the 
     environmental quality of the farm or ranch where the farming 
     and ranching operation is located by minimizing the 
     production of pollutants and conserving the natural resource 
     of the farm or ranch.
       The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources 
     Conservation Service, will develop the plans.

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