[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5218-S5219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. TESTER:
  S. 1242. A bill to amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act and Farm 
Security

[[Page S5219]]

and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to establish a biofuel pilot program 
to offer crop insurance to producers of experimental biofuel crops and 
a program to make loans and loan guarantees to producers of 
experimental biofuel crops; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 
and Forestry.
  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I rise here today to introduce the Biofuel 
Crop Insurance Act to provide a safety net to innovative American 
farmers.
  America's addiction to foreign oil is one of the greatest threats to 
our national security and our economy. At the same time climate change 
is threatening the world as we know it. We are experiencing wildly 
shifting weather patterns, prolonged drought, intense hurricanes and 
melting glaciers and icecaps. We need to do something to change our 
energy sources to clean and domestic options, and our farmers and rural 
communities are leading the way.
  Unfortunately, some of the best potential crops for biofuel 
production lack the same government safety nets like crop insurance and 
loans that our commodity crops have. This legislation is designed to 
change that by allowing the USDA to expedite the process for approving 
insurance to dedicated biofuel crops.
  In the last few years the ethanol industry has experienced explosive 
growth. Ethanol is good for farmers, rural communities and our 
consumers. I for one would rather buy my fuel from farmers in the 
Midwest than dictators in the Mideast.
  Corn will continue to be king of ethanol for some time. But we need 
to start using other crops for ethanol and biodiesel production, 
because if there is one thing that our recent energy crisis has taught 
us it is that diversity is critical. We need to expand the use of crops 
that don't compete with our food system that can be grown in different 
parts of the country, are more affordable, and require fewer inputs 
than corn.
  In Montana, farmers are planting an oil seed crop called camelina 
because it can be grown on marginal lands, with few inputs, and high 
profits. Its oil can be crushed and made into biodiesel on farms and 
small communities' rural landscapes. Camelina can be used in rotation 
with other crops such as wheat and barley and bring new money and new 
development to rural States like Montana, Washington, Idaho, and the 
Dakotas. Montana State University is one of several academic 
institutions that have done extensive research into the crop in regards 
to what it needs to grow, where to grow it, and what farmers can expect 
it to produce. All their tests are positive and this year we expect 
that up to 20,000 acres of camelina will be planted in Montana alone. 
Unfortunately, farmers are hesitant to seize this opportunity because 
they lack an insurance safety net, and their banks won't loan them 
money to plant crops that aren't insured.
  Being a farmer myself, I know how agriculture is beholden to Mother 
Nature. A dry year, a bad hail storm or a late frost can destroy a 
year's worth of work. Farmers need safety nets, not handouts. Crop 
insurance is a market mechanism that can mitigate risk for farmers. The 
legislation I'm introducing today will be directly responsible for 
extensive growth of camelina, and the emergence of a biodiesel industry 
for States like Montana.
  If I wasn't here right now, I would be sitting on my tractor in Big 
Sandy, MT, planting oil seed crops on my farm and learning how to 
process and crush oil seeds to make biodiesel. I use 3,000 gallons of 
diesel fuel a year on my farm, and anxiously await the day when I can 
use fuel grown on my land or bought from my neighbors instead of 
imported from overseas.
  This bill sets up a pilot insurance program for dedicated biofuel 
crops that displace petroleum products, and provides loans for 
stabilization of farm income and marketing assistance. It also creates 
grants for research into planting and harvesting techniques and grants 
to study the use of biofuel meal used as animal feeds.
  I believe this bill will spark a biodiesel industry across the 
Northern Great Plains and I encourage my colleagues to support this 
legislation as it moves forward.
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