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AgriPulse: Senate Agriculture Committee gains ground on a new farm billBy Sara Wyant, Agri-Pulse Editor Senate staffers have been working almost around the clock to try to find common ground among members of the Senate Agriculture Committee and it appears that they are finally making headway. Although each title is still subject to change as the entire package comes together, staff sources reported that agreements have already been reached on one or two titles and more compromises were reached late Tuesday. Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) is scheduled to give reporters an update on farm bill discussions on Wednesday morning and we'll let you know if more details become available after that briefing. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) told reporters Tuesday that Sen. Harkin plans to start markup on Wednesday, Oct. 24th, but a spokesperson for Harkin would only confirm that the mark up is still expected to start next week, without giving a specific date. Armed with his trademark charts, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) was in Bismarck, North Dakota last week to brief farmers and industry leaders about the 2007 Farm Bill. Conrad said that even though Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin has identified about$6 billion in savings within the five-year baseline, and the Finance Committee has provided an additional $3 billion, "We do have about a $1 billion hole." He said no decision has been made on how to come up with the $1 billion, though the most likely path is to cut direct payments when commodity prices are above the cost of production, or an "across-the-board haircut of 2 to 3%," excluding nutrition. He asked attendees which option they would prefer and the group of 40-50 people overwhelmingly supported cuts in direct payments. Conrad said he wants a "big vote" out of committee and on the Senate floor and feels confident that ongoing negotiations between his staff, Sen. Chambliss' staff and Sen. Harkin's staff were yielding substantial results. Conrad said the conservation title will be substantially strengthened in the farm bill, but programs need to be reoriented to work in all parts of the country. However, Conrad says he does not support a proposal advanced by Sen. Harkin to combine the Environmental Quality Incentive Program with the Conservation Security Program to streamline delivery of working lands conservation programs. © Copyright Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or distribution in any form is prohibited without consent from Editor Sara Wyant, Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc. 5N985 Rt. #31, St. Charles, IL. 60175. Phone: (630) 443-3257. Fax: (630) 443-3258. A one-year subscription rate (48 issues) is $397.00. To subscribe, send an e-mail to: Agripulse@aol.com or visit: www.Agri-Pulse.com. Editor's note: For more stories and a free, four-week trial subscription, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com.
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