[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 76 (Monday, June 3, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3890-S3891]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             THE FARM BILL

  Mr. MORAN. I just returned from my home State of Kansas to return to 
the work we are about to do in the Senate. This week away from 
Washington, DC,

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gave me the opportunity to travel all corners of our State. I went from 
southeast Kansas in Galena to northwest Kansas in Goodland, and almost 
every night while I was home weather was the topic of conversation.
  Certainly, as Kansans who have experienced tornadoes in our own State 
over the last week and, certainly, over the life of our State, we 
extend our deepest sympathies and concerns to the people of Oklahoma. 
It is weather that I wanted to talk about on the Senate floor today in 
preparation for an amendment I will offer, which is being offered to 
the farm bill, and continued discussion of that farm bill throughout 
this week.
  As I listened to Kansas farmers, the most prevalent request when it 
comes to farm policy, to a request for what ought to be in a farm bill 
is the request by Kansans that the Crop Insurance Program remain solid 
and viable. We live in a State in which weather is not always a friend 
to agriculture. Yet agriculture is our most significant creator of 
economic activity and generator of jobs and economic growth in our 
State.
  We have the pleasure, in fact we are very proud, to feed, clothe, and 
provide energy to much of the world. At the moment the challenges are 
great because of the significant effect the drought has had on Kansas 
and much of the Midwest. That drought has been ongoing for more than 2 
years, and it has had a significant impact on agricultural production. 
It is that point I want to make as we debate the farm bill, the 
importance of the Crop Insurance Program in response to those difficult 
times.
  Despite the drought, our Nation remains the land of plenty, and 
Americans continue to enjoy the safest and most abundant food supply in 
the world. The reason we have so much is because of many factors: 
Prayers, the work ethic of American farmers and ranchers, the courage 
to persevere in spite of enormous challenges, and, among those things, 
finally, is the ability to manage risk.
  Farming and ranching is a high-risk occupation. Producers can't 
manage the one thing that matters most to them, Mother Nature. Mother 
Nature is the one variable that can't be controlled. Mother Nature 
brings drought, rain, wind, and hail, the things a producer must face 
head on each year and each year to follow.
  With the inability to control the weather, we must control what we 
can--the great risks associated with agriculture. This is required for 
the United States to remain that land of plenty.
  The risk management tool of choice is crop insurance. Crop insurance 
gives producers a safety net so when there is a drought, a flood, a 
hailstorm, or windstorm, they can pick up the pieces and try again. 
This is what sets us apart from the rest of the world. We have the 
ability to manage our risks so when Mother Nature gives us something 
bad, our Nation's farmers and ranchers can live to start again.
  Crop insurance is a public-private partnership. The government helps 
the producers cover some of the costs of the policy, and the producer 
covers the rest. Consumers help the producer, and the producer helps 
the consumer.
  To be clear, producers pay a significant part of the premium out of 
their own pocket. In 2012 they paid $4.1 billion to buy insurance to 
manage their risks. When farmers take out a crop insurance policy, they 
get a bill, not a check.
  Crop insurance has virtually replaced the need for ad hoc disaster 
measures for crops. During my time in the House of Representatives and 
now in the Senate, going back to 1989, 42 such pieces of legislation 
have cost the taxpayer more than $70 billion. During my time in the 
House, and now the Senate, many times we have asked for ad hoc disaster 
assistance, a bill to pass the legislature to provide assistance at the 
moment. Crop insurance is the tool by which we can avoid those 
requests. When you manage risks with crop insurance, you save the 
taxpayers money and give the producers a better program.
  Today, as we have scheduled votes, I have an amendment on the Senate 
floor dealing with a crop called alfalfa. Alfalfa is the Nation's 
fourth most valuable crop, and it plays a significant role in our daily 
lives.
  Alfalfa is a building block for milk and meat. The hay that is grown 
in the fields of California, Idaho, South Dakota, Colorado, Oregon, 
Washington, Texas, Wisconsin, Kansas, and the rest of the 50 States is 
a driver of the cost of products on grocery store shelves. The Nation's 
fourth most valuable crop is vitally important.
  The reality is producers are faced with risks, and there is no good 
way to manage them when it comes to this crop, alfalfa. The current 
Crop Insurance Program, Forage Production APH, is severely inadequate, 
as demonstrated by the fact that less than 10 percent of the acres are 
enrolled in the program--compared to corn, soybeans, and wheat, which 
are all more than 80 percent.
  Producers are going back to the bank to borrow operating money and 
being told not to plant alfalfa because there is no good way to manage 
the risk. This is very troubling because of the impact that alfalfa has 
on the economy and our Nation's food supply.
  The crop is important, and we need to figure out a way to manage its 
risks. Producers are being told to grow crops that have a safety net, 
crops that have some kind of guarantee when weather is bad. My 
amendment, No. 987, requires the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to 
conduct research and development regarding the policy to insure alfalfa 
and a report describing the results of that study. There are no 
additional costs to the taxpayer with my amendment.
  We need to take a good hard look at alfalfa and recognize its value 
to the Nation. We need to study and develop something that will work, 
save taxpayer money, and make certain the land of plenty remains the 
land of plenty. Alfalfa is a building block of milk and meat. With a 
risk management tool for alfalfa production, producers will enjoy lower 
input cost and consumers will enjoy less expensive products on the 
grocery store shelves.
  I know you understand the value of agriculture in Kansas, and I 
appreciate the opportunity to be on the Senate floor today to describe 
the value of crop insurance and particularly to highlight the amendment 
we will vote on later today.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Alaska.

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