[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 58 (Thursday, April 25, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3038-S3039]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Brown, Mr. Tester, Mr. 
        Casey, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Udall of New Mexico, Mr. Merkley, Mr. 
        Franken, and Mr. Johnson of South Dakota):
  S. 837. A bill to expand and improve opportunities for beginning 
farmers and ranchers, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, for many years we have witnessed with 
great regret the aging of America's farmers and ranchers and the 
decline in the number of agricultural operations in our country. Simply 
put, our nation will be stronger and better if more beginning farmers 
and ranchers are able to succeed those who inevitably retire and leave 
the business. We need new generations of farmers and ranchers to 
produce critical supplies of food, fuel, and fiber, to care for and 
conserve our soil, water, and other natural resources, and to 
contribute as members of healthy and vibrant rural communities. Many 
people across America yearn for an opportunity to get a start and build 
a successful agricultural operation, yet they face daunting challenges 
and obstacles.
  The legislation we are introducing today will help families and 
individuals across our nation apply their talents, motivation, and 
dedication to start and continue farm and ranch operations and 
revitalize rural America. Beginning farmers and ranchers will benefit 
from practical assistance in this bill, including effective training 
and mentoring, better access to and careful use of credit, enhanced 
support for conservation, and help in starting and succeeding in 
profitable enterprises such as value-added businesses.
  We have previously adopted a number of successful initiatives to 
assist beginning farmers and ranchers, including in the 2002 and 2008 
farm bills enacted

[[Page S3039]]

when I was proud to serve as chairman of the Agriculture, Nutrition, 
and Forestry Committee. This bill will extend, build upon, and 
strengthen existing programs and initiatives and ensure their continued 
effectiveness and success.
  A key feature of the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 
2013 is to extend and strengthen the beginning farmer and rancher 
development program, which we enacted in 2008. In this program, USDA 
provides competitively-awarded grants to qualified organizations that 
deliver training and education for beginning farmers and ranchers. This 
new legislation makes it a new priority for USDA to issue grants to 
support agricultural rehabilitation and vocational training for 
military veterans and to deliver training and education to help 
veterans who are beginning farmers and ranchers. The bill also would 
extend and increase mandatory funding for this development program to 
$20 million in each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018.
  This legislation also strengthens in several ways the assistance USDA 
provides to enable beginning farmers and ranchers to assemble the 
financial resources they need to start and build a successful 
operation. It codifies in statute a microloan program in which young 
beginning farmers and ranchers who qualify could borrow up to $35,000 
for operating expenses at reduced interest rates and with simplified 
paperwork. Also included in this bill is mandatory funding at $5 
million a year to carry out the individual development accounts pilot 
program that was enacted in the 2008 farm bill. Grants under this pilot 
program would support State-level individual development account 
initiatives to help beginning farmers and ranchers build savings that 
can then be invested in their agricultural operations. Several other 
provisions of the bill update and improve the existing USDA programs to 
help beginning farmers and ranchers obtain loans for operating 
expenses, land purchases, and conservation practices.
  To encourage and assist beginning farmers and ranchers in maintaining 
and adopting sound conservation practices, the bill extends and 
strengthens several initiatives enacted in previous farm bills. Of 
special importance, the bill expands the options and financial 
incentives for maintaining conservation on land that comes out of 
Conservation Reserve Program, CRP, contracts if it is leased or sold to 
beginning farmers or ranchers. Beginning farmers and ranchers would 
also receive more help through the Farm and Ranch Land Protection 
Program, enhanced whole-farm conservation planning and technical 
assistance, and increased advanced conservation cost-share payments.
  Other features of the bill will help beginning and socially 
disadvantaged farmers and ranchers better understand and utilize 
insurance programs and risk management systems. In order to help 
beginning farmers and ranchers build markets and increase income 
through adding value to their commodities, the bill enhances 
opportunities for beginning farmers and ranchers to receive USDA value-
added producer grants and provides new, increased mandatory funding for 
such grants. It also creates a special USDA veterans agricultural 
liaison position to focus upon helping veterans understand and benefit 
from USDA programs, especially those for beginning farmers and 
ranchers.
  In conclusion, I am proud of the initiatives we have previously 
enacted to help beginning farmers and ranchers create and pursue 
opportunities and realize their goals and dreams. By building on the 
success of the existing programs, this legislation will lend more help 
to beginning farmers and ranchers and in doing so strengthen American 
agriculture, our rural communities, and our nation as a whole. I am 
grateful to the cosponsors of this bill and urge all of my colleagues 
to support it.
                                 ______