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Concerns about proposed ’13 ag budget
Agriculture is responding to the proposed cut in the Obama Administration’s proposed 2013 budget. For one, it would deeply cut crop insurance premiums. Senate Ag Committee member Charles Grassley of Iowa says there’s agreement in Congress and among farmers that a strong crop insurance program is a necessity. He says, over the years, crop insurance has effectively taken pressure off other federal farm payments.
“There’s been billions and billions in savings coming from crop insurance already,” Grassley tells reporters, “And don’t shred that safety net any more is what I think a lot of senators would say.”
The president of the National Farmers Union says agriculture has already given its fair share of cuts. Roger Johnson says the president’s budget would cut agriculture programs by $32 Billion over 10 years – which is $9 Billion more than the agreement between the House and Senate Ag Committees reached late last year. Johnson says
Johnson says they are concerned that while the budget keeps in place strong support for some conservation and environmental issues, funding for key conservation programs is at risk. Because this is a farm bill reauthorization year, Johnson says, “this will further exacerbate the budget hole for agriculture programs.”
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