Sen. Barack Obama- I support a robust safety net that targets
assistance appropriately and provides
farmers with risk mitigation tools that protect them from weather and
market conditions that are beyond their control. This includes traditional
farm programs, crop insurance, and disaster assistance. I supported the
2008 Farm Bill and both the bill’s Permanent Disaster Program and ad hoc
disaster assistance when farmers in Illinois and around the country have
needed it. I am pleased to see that the final version of the Farm Bill contains a
new revenue counter-cyclical program, the Average Crop Revenue Program
(ACRE), which was developed with the National Corn Growers. This program
should provide farmers with new tools to mitigate risk, and I hope that the
U.S. Department of Agriculture implements it in keeping with the intent of
Congress, so that it works for farmers.
Sen. John McCain- America needs a risk management program for agriculture that reflects the
realities of the global marketplace for food, fuel and fiber in the 21st century.
When farmers suffer from a natural disaster such as droughts or floods, we
should assist them – this is a commitment we have made to our farmers and
I will honor it. I am firmly committed to bringing the agriculture community
together to develop a sustainable market-driven system of risk management.
Rapidly rising input costs and fluctuating commodity prices threaten the
financial stability of American agriculture. The 21st century global agriculture
market is too complex for America’s farmers to rely on an outmoded system
of pre-determined countercyclical payments that assumes narrow trading
bands for these input costs and commodity prices. A market-based system of
risk management will furthermore eliminate the influence of special interests
on America’s agricultural policy. I will focus agriculture policy on meeting the
food, fiber, feed and energy needs of America and the world. As President,
I will approach America’s agriculture policy with the goal of ensuring our
farm, ranch, timber and commercial fishing industries are competitive in the
global marketplace. Consistent with my longstanding position, I will oppose
subsidies, which distort markets, artificially raise prices for consumers, and
interfere with America’s ability to negotiate with our international trading
partners to the detriment of the entire agriculture community.
KEY ISSUES
