By Kathyrn McConnell, America.gov
WASHINGTON – The Republican and Democratic presidential candidates
both supported lowering farm payment limits and limiting such
assistance to family farmers.
Payment limits were a focal point of debates in Congress on the 2008
Farm Bill, passed in June over President Bush’s veto. President-Elect
Barak Obama voted for the 2008 Farm Bill, saying it had more good
provisions such as support for hunger and conservation programs, than
bad provisions. His opponent Senator John McCain opposed the bill.
Now that Obama has been elected, here’s a look at his views on
agriculture as stated during the presidential campaign.
Obama wants to make a disaster assistance program permanent so
farmers would not have to wait for Congress to decide whether aid is
needed in the wake of individual natural disasters.
The Democrat supports country-of-origin labeling, which requires meat
and perishable farm products to indicate from where they came. The
Farm Bill expanded the list of products covered by the law effective
Sept. 30.
Obama would increase funding for a cost-sharing program for organic
certification to help farmers afford the costs of complying with
national standards for organic food, a fast-growing sector of the
American food market.
There are not enough young people entering farming, according to
Obama, so he would help the public university system and farm
extension service work with youth groups to identify and prepare
future farmers. He also favors tax breaks for landowners selling to
beginning family farmers and for people going into farming.
Obama wants to work to break down trade and investment barriers to
maintain American farmers’ competitiveness around the world. He would
broaden export promotion programs with training and through new
electronic transaction systems to help producers develop global
marketing networks. He also would work to ensure all trade agreements
contain strong and enforceable labor, environmental and safety
standards.
The Illinois senator says he supports efforts to improve food safety
by boosting America’s ability to identify, contain and prevent
outbreaks and to inform the public when an outbreak happens. He says
he wants the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug
Administration to have more authority to issue and enforce recalls of
contaminated food.
Obama would encourage the use of technologies to produce power from
animal wastes, and farming practices that reduce energy use and
maintain soil health. He also pledges to expand federal energy
efficiency and conservation projects and support for industries that
produce new value-added agricultural products.
The Democrat wants to use some of the revenue from carbon dioxide
emissions permits for investments in clean-energy development and
deployment. This would create jobs and stimulate economic growth,
especially in rural America, he says.
Incorporating more biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol, into the
national supply is another Obama goal – 7.57 billion litres (2
billion gallons) of cellulosic ethanol in the system by 2013 and a
requirement of at least 227 billion litres (60 billion gallons) of
biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel, by 2030.
Obama would create incentives for communities to invest in biofuel
refineries and also would provide a subsidy for ethanol produced from
new facilities.
Obama also wants incentives for forest owners, farmers and ranchers
to plant trees, restore grasslands, and use farming practices that
capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or engage in no-till
practices that retain carbon dioxide currently stored in the soil.
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