Farmers Union adopts pro-southern, conservation compliance, raw milk policies
March 06, 2013 | 06:48 PM
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Delegates to the National Farmers Union convention here on Tuesday passed policy resolutions that gave special attention to southern crops, tied crop insurance to conservation compliance, and called for all consumers to be able to buy raw milk.
“We support a price support system that allows the economic viability of crops such as rice, cotton, peanuts, and grazed-out wheat, because these crops are not economically sustainable in the context of farm bill proposals,” the Farmers Union delegates said after a lengthy debate on whether to give special attention to the crops grown in the southern states or just call for a farm bill that works for all regions.
In the end, the delegates decided they wanted to give special attention to the South, in part to encourage Congress to pass a five-year bill this year.
Roger Johnson
Farmers Union is regarded as a Midwestern-dominated organization, but it originated in Texas, has its largest membership in Oklahoma, and also has a chapter in Arkansas, NFU President Roger Johnson noted in an interview.
The Farmers Union’s basic crop policy, known by the acronym MIDAS, is oriented toward supply management and is unlikely to be adopted, Johnson acknowledged.
Southerners have said that the MIDAS proposal does not deal well with southern crops except wheat, and the delegates wanted to send a signal that “there needs to be a target price or support price concept that is consistent with MIDAS and that we need to have policies that work for all of our members all over the country,” Johnson said.
The delegates also voted to tie crop insurance eligibility to compliance with conservation rules, a position that puts NFU in opposition to most other farm organizations and in league with environmentalists.
Farmers Union had taken the same position last year, Johnson noted, but the vote for tying conservation to crop insurance was stronger this year.
“The argument that prevailed was that it is hard enough passing the farm bill that is going to work for farm interests, but if we are not particularly sensitive to conservation and nutrition interests we make a big mistake.” Johnson said.
“I suggested many of the other ag groups are paying insufficient attention to the other interest groups. If people think that 1 percent of the population [the farmers] are going to write a farm bill and get it through Congress — they are not thinking strategically enough,” Johnson added.
Farmers Union also passed a complicated dairy policy that Johnson said would allow the leadership to support the Dairy Modernization Act that House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., has championed.
The group also called for all areas of the continental United States to be brought into the milk marketing order system, a veiled statement that meant that California should be brought into the system.
The delegates also made strong statements in favor of raw [unpasteurized] milk, although they did not formally adopt a policy favoring the movement of raw milk across states lines, a policy that dairy groups oppose on health grounds.
But the policy provision said that Farmers Union supports “the production and sale of raw milk as it provides a viable market niche for dairies.”
The provision said that due to the risks of cross-contamination, NFU recommends that raw milk “be bottled as the product of a single source,” but it concluded that NFU also supports “equal access to raw milk (and or raw dairy products) for human consumption for all consumers that choose to consumer raw milk.”
“We support a price support system that allows the economic viability of crops such as rice, cotton, peanuts, and grazed-out wheat, because these crops are not economically sustainable in the context of farm bill proposals,” the Farmers Union delegates said after a lengthy debate on whether to give special attention to the crops grown in the southern states or just call for a farm bill that works for all regions.
In the end, the delegates decided they wanted to give special attention to the South, in part to encourage Congress to pass a five-year bill this year.
Farmers Union is regarded as a Midwestern-dominated organization, but it originated in Texas, has its largest membership in Oklahoma, and also has a chapter in Arkansas, NFU President Roger Johnson noted in an interview.
The Farmers Union’s basic crop policy, known by the acronym MIDAS, is oriented toward supply management and is unlikely to be adopted, Johnson acknowledged.
Southerners have said that the MIDAS proposal does not deal well with southern crops except wheat, and the delegates wanted to send a signal that “there needs to be a target price or support price concept that is consistent with MIDAS and that we need to have policies that work for all of our members all over the country,” Johnson said.
The delegates also voted to tie crop insurance eligibility to compliance with conservation rules, a position that puts NFU in opposition to most other farm organizations and in league with environmentalists.
Farmers Union had taken the same position last year, Johnson noted, but the vote for tying conservation to crop insurance was stronger this year.
“The argument that prevailed was that it is hard enough passing the farm bill that is going to work for farm interests, but if we are not particularly sensitive to conservation and nutrition interests we make a big mistake.” Johnson said.
“I suggested many of the other ag groups are paying insufficient attention to the other interest groups. If people think that 1 percent of the population [the farmers] are going to write a farm bill and get it through Congress — they are not thinking strategically enough,” Johnson added.
Farmers Union also passed a complicated dairy policy that Johnson said would allow the leadership to support the Dairy Modernization Act that House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., has championed.
The group also called for all areas of the continental United States to be brought into the milk marketing order system, a veiled statement that meant that California should be brought into the system.
The delegates also made strong statements in favor of raw [unpasteurized] milk, although they did not formally adopt a policy favoring the movement of raw milk across states lines, a policy that dairy groups oppose on health grounds.
But the policy provision said that Farmers Union supports “the production and sale of raw milk as it provides a viable market niche for dairies.”
The provision said that due to the risks of cross-contamination, NFU recommends that raw milk “be bottled as the product of a single source,” but it concluded that NFU also supports “equal access to raw milk (and or raw dairy products) for human consumption for all consumers that choose to consumer raw milk.”
