Bill Huffman
Director - Governmental Affairs

June 27, 2008

Congress will return to session on July 8th for three weeks to be followed by their annual August recess. Work on the FY 09 Agricultural Appropriations bill came to a halt this week after House Republican’s tried to attach an amendment to the bill that would have opened up off-shore oil drilling in coastal areas. The Republicans have said they intend to offer this amendment to any legislation adopted the remainder of this year, which effectively could delay any legislation including appropriation bill for the remainder of the year unless some agreement is reached between Democrats and the Republicans.

2008 Crop Signup

Local Farm Service Agency offices are now scheduling appointments for producers to sign up for the 2008 rice program. Computer software is now being developed to process 2008 crop direct payments. The final direct payments will be made after October 1.  Farmer’s have until August 15th to sign up for the program without paying a penalty.

USDA Farm Bill Implementation

Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said Wednesday that USDA will not be implementing the new Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program before winter wheat planting season and won’t finish rules for the new permanent agriculture disaster aid program before the Bush Administration leaves office. 

Schafer and his top deputies are calling on Congress to provide additional money to USDA, upwards of $200 million, to implement the entire 2008 Farm Bill that was recently enacted into law. Congress only allocated $50 million for USDA implementation. Schafer said the Department will need at least $200 million to pay for new computer systems and software to administer the ACRE program and the new permanent disaster aid program.

We expect USDA will be under extreme pressure to implement the new permanent agriculture disaster aid program sooner, especially after the mid-west flooding.  Mid-west farmers will be looking for disaster assistance. Secretary Schafer said that “a year from this harvest season is when we (USDA) can evaluate what a disaster payment might be”. 

There is the likelihood that mid-western members of Congress will propose another “emergency agriculture disaster program” later this summer or fall to handle the mid-west flooding problem. That could trigger another battle between Congress and the Bush Administration over disaster funding.

Newman Honored at Rice Millers’ Convention

We are pleased to report that Ralph S. Newman, Jr., former longtime President and CEO of Farmers’ Rice Cooperative was honored this week for his many contributions to the U.S. rice industry. We are attaching an article about the presentation from Wednesday’s USA Rice Federation Daily.

The Board of Directors and staff of Farmers’ Rice Cooperative congratulate Mr. Newman for this well deserved Distinguished Service Award.

USA Rice Federation Daily Article