Bill Huffman
Director - Governmental Affairs

June 20, 2008

Final enactment of the 2008 Farm Bill occurred this week with the override of President Bush’s most recent veto of the legislative package. The $290 billion farm bill is now law.

The House voted 317-109 to override the President’s veto on Wednesday and the Senate voted Thursday 80-14 to override the veto. This was only the second veto override in the 7 plus years that the Bush Administration has been in office.

Attention now moves to implementation of the bill. As we’ve reported before, the Farm Service Agency is busy writing the implementing language for the legislation and adopting the regulatory language necessary to administer the program. Most of the new provisions become effective for the 2009 crop year.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson said this week that he will hold hearings later this year to “monitor” USDA’s implementation of the legislation.  He wants to make sure that USDA adheres to the intent of Congress with regard to the various titles in the farm program.  There appears to be a great deal of distrust between Congress and the Secretary of Agriculture and his Deputy Secretary Chuck Connor.  Peterson had some very uncomplimentary comments about Connor at a reception held earlier this week in Washington.  Connor, of course, will be supervising implementation of the Farm Bill. He was ardently opposed to the legislation when it was moving through Congress.

California Farm Bill Briefings

The California Rice Commission will host two in-depth briefings on the2008 Farm Bill this next Thursday, June 26th for California growers.  The briefings will provide information about several new provisions with an analysis on how they will affect the rice industry.

USDA Rice Federation Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Reece Langley, will be providing the overview. 

This will be an excellent chance to learn more about the payment limit, adjusted gross income threshold and the Average Crop Revenue Election program (ACRE), which becomes effective with the 2009 crop.  ACRE would be an alternative program growers could elect to participate in should they wish to not participate in the direct payment program that currently exists.  It is a very complicated program and there surely will be lot’s of questions as growers analyze this alternative program.

Meeting locations and times are as follows:

Best Western Bonanza Inn
1001 Clark Avenue
Yuba City
10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Maxwell Inn
81 Oak Street
Maxwell
1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

We encourage growers to attend one of these meetings.  This will be an excellent opportunity to learn more about the new program so that you can make plans or necessary changes in your farming program prior to the 2009 crop.