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What should the next farm bill look like?Perspectives from the other side of the Atlantic By Sara Wyant Even though the ink is barely dry on the 2008 farm bill, there are already a number of people analyzing the political dynamics and laying the groundwork for future changes. Depending on the budget situation, some experts believe those changes could start to percolate early next year, as a new president and new Congress confront huge budget deficits. Former Texas Congressman Charlie Stenholm is already telling ag groups that this is likely to be a one-year farm bill, because lawmakers will be looking for places to cut and the $280 billion package will undoubtedly be on their "radar screen." But whether this is a one-year farm bill or not, the juices are already flowing about the type of coalition that will be necessary to produce a farm bill that agriculture committees can support and that Congress can pass. If this year's struggle is any indication, both of the agriculture committee chairmen will need strong political skills and, perhaps, magic wands to make it happen. Confronted with an increasingly urban voting base that wants more money for nutrition and environmental protection, how will rural congressmen find ways to continue providing a safety net for farmers? EU model The Europeans figured out the answer to this question a few years ago. As part of their Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform efforts in the 1990s, officials in the European Union adopted a new rural development policy designed to transfer funds to rural areas in a whole host of new ways for education, farm transfer, marketing, child care, and environmental protection. In the European Union (EU), policy makers have already made a concerted shift from Pillar 1 of the Common Agricultural Program (CAP), which includes commodity supports and income stabilization, to Pillar 2, which focuses on a wide variety of rural development and conservation programs. (See box.) With about 14.5 million farms in the 27 member states, averaging about 12 hectares, the EU faces some special challenges. Rural areas represent 91 percent of the territory and 56 percent of the population, but these folks have 25 to 30 percent lower incomes than urban areas. The shift to Pillar 2 has been a convenient way to transfer funds while providing a wider menu of public/private sector benefits. All CAP policies are currently under review as part of the government's "Health Check" process, where policy makers hope to gather input about future policy and budget priorities. And, in light of skyrocketing commodity, energy and food prices, there is general agreement that all farm and rural policies will probably continue to be under the microscope--just as they are in the U.S. Quality of life Public support for direct agriculture subsidy payments continues to erode on both sides of the Atlantic, points out Chuck Fluharty, President Emeritus, Rural Policy Research Institute and one of the lead tour organizers. "Throughout my professional life, I have struggled to understand why American agriculture has not used its significant political acumen to more strongly advocate for rural development policies and programs, all of which are designed to enhance the economic opportunities and quality of life in rural America," he told tour participants. After touring several areas of Belgium, France and Germany where rural development programs were in place, several of the nation's leading farm organization leaders started to suggest that perhaps rural development should be a bigger part of future farm bills. "I've spent a lot of my time working on the commodity title and things like the direct and counter-cyclical programs," Indiana Farm Bureau President Don Villwock said. "My biggest failure was to improve my community for my daughters to get good jobs and come back home. But with some of these new opportunities, maybe someday my grandchildren will be able to live closer to home." Villwock says about 60 percent of the farmers in his home state have off-farm jobs so the opportunity to get jobs in rural areas is crucial. But for Villwock and many other farm leaders, the discussion was much broader than jobs. "We need to improve the quality of life for people in rural America," he explained, "including access to technology, affordable health care and improvements in day-cares, schools, roads, etc." Editor's note: Sara Wyant traveled across Belgium, Germany and France with about 30 ag and rural leaders from across the U.S. to learn about their farm and rural policies. The study tour was sponsored by the German Marshall Fund and the Rural Policy Research Institute, with support from the Farm Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Editor's note: Columnist Sara Wyant is president of Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc. and publishes a bi-weekly newsletter, Agri-Pulse, on food and farm policy. For more information, you can e-mail her at Agripulse@aol.com. 8/4/08 Date: 7/31/08 Advertisement
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