R. F. D. News & Views, July 17, 2013

SNAP! House Passes Farm Bill Without Nutrition Title

BLOOMINGTON – State agricultural commodity leaders were quick to release statements regarding the House of Representatives’ July 11 passage of a split version of the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (2013 Farm Bill) that strips the Nutrition Title, including SNAP (food stamps), from the bill. As Ted Delicath explained for ilcorn.org hours before the House vote of 216-208 was tallied, a sustainable food supply is closely related to the nutrition programs the government provides for low-income families and others in need, leading “groups across the country” to question the reasoning behind the split farm bill.

“A united farm bill has long been viewed as a historically beneficial relationship that protects the integrity of those in need and the crops that provide their nutrition. Breaking apart the relationship injects serious uncertainty for all parties involved,” stated Delicath, adding that failure to pass “appropriate” farm legislation by September 30 would result in “unfavorable” conditions for all farmers and consumers.

House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) issued a statement following the vote lauding the House effort in enacting a five-year farm bill that provides certainty to farmers and ranchers while creating regulatory relief for small businesses, reducing government spending and making common-sense, market-oriented reforms to farm policy. “I look forward to continuing conversations with my House colleagues and starting conversations with my Senate colleagues on a path that ultimately gets a farm bill to the President’s desk in the coming months,” said Lucas.

 

Illinois Corn: House Farm Bill “Epitomizes Petty Bickering”

BLOOMINGTON – Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA) President Paul Taylor made no secret of how he felt about the House passing their 2013 Farm Bill (HR 2642) on July 11 without a Nutrition Title, which provides food assistance programs to needy Americans.

“We are greatly disappointed that, today, we must take a position on farm bill legislation that fails to reflect the nature of how food and farms are interwoven in the lives of every American. We must take a position on a bill that has adulterated the bipartisan and bicameral nature of farm bill legislation that has historically demonstrated what is best about America and our Congress. We must take a position on legislation that epitomizes petty bickering and political gamesmanship,” Taylor said in a statement released to media, shortly before the House vote.

“I will reiterate that (ICGA) opposed splitting the farm bill into two separate pieces of legislation. Now that House leadership has moved forward with what we continue to believe is an incredibly short-sighted and self-interested strategy, we must accept the decision,” he added.

Taylor said that bringing any form of a farm bill by the House to conference committee with the Senate will at least provide an opportunity to draft legislation that is current, relevant and reflective of the changing needs of the American public. “Our position should not be confused with agreement to the policies set forth in the House plan. We are dismayed at the dysfunctional process that has delivered all of us to this point of deeply flawed legislation,” Taylor said.

 

ISA Chair: Congress Must Unite for Farm Bill

BLOOMINGTON – Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) Chairman Bill Wykes was in Washington last week lobbying for action on the farm bill when the House of Representatives passed a pared-down version of the bill, containing only farm programs. Wykes thanked ISA advocates in the House for their work on the farm bill, but admitted there is still much work to do to restore the Nutrition Title to the bill. “We support legislative efforts that lead to both the farm and nutrition parts of this bill ultimately being approved by both the House and Senate,” said Wykes, a farmer from Yorkville, in a prepared statement.

Of concern to the ISA: the House farm bill would repeal 1938 and 1949 permanent laws, making new Title I (price risk) provisions within the 2013 House bill permanent law going forward. If other farm bill titles– including conservation, energy, research and trade– are not made permanent, the titles risk non-authorization when the 2008 farm bill extension expires.

“We ask now both the House and Senate to work in a bipartisan way to develop a conference bill that has the ability to pass both the House and Senate and by signed by the President before September 30,” Wykes stated. “This is when existing authorities for important risk management, trade expansion, conservation, bio-energy and agricultural research authorities all expire.”

 

Study: Soybean Meal Top Protein Source for Swine

URBANA – The results of a new study comparing nutritional values of soy products fed to pigs has confirmed that soybean meal, the most commonly used source for amino acids in pig diets around the world, is the “protein source of choice” for swine.

“Soybean products are excellent sources of protein for pigs because their amino acid profiles complement those of cereal grains,” said the University of Illinois’ Jen Roth, one of the authors of the study, in an email. “Amino acids in soy protein are more digestible than amino acids in most other plant proteins, which results in less nitrogen being excreted in the manure from pigs fed diets containing soybean meal than if any other protein sources are used.”

Other key takeaways from the study include determining that dehulled soybean meal contains the same amount of digestible energy as corn, soybean protein has a better balance of indispensable limiting amino acids than any other plant proteins, and fermented or enzyme treated soybean meal can replace fish meal in diets fed to weanling pigs.

Swine nutrition research is available at the Stein Nutrition Lab: www.nutrition.ansci.illinois.edu. (National Soybean Research lab news release) 

 

Illinois Farm Fact:

In the United States, the majority of all corn (88 percent), soybeans (94 percent) and cotton (90 percent) are grown using biotechnology. (Illinois Corn/Tricia Braid)

 

(Tim Alexander is a freelance reporter who writes agriculture, news and feature articles for the News Bulletin, Farm World and many other publications.)