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Specialty crop growers and crop insurance experts told a House Agriculture subcommittee on July 10, 2003 that the USDA Risk Management Agency should increase the availability of crop insurance for specialty crops such as fruits and nuts and improve the provisions of policies. Agriculture General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, noted that Congress is trying to make crop insurance an alternative to ad hoc disaster payments. But Florida insurance agent Bob Carden testified that crop insurance does not cover losses of fruit from citrus canker, a devastating disease.

The article reports that the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee and the U.S. House Agriculture General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee will hold hearings on the two proposals pending at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to create box-office futures exchanges.

The article reports that two U.S. House Agriculture Committee leaders have introduced legislation to allow more small farmers to qualify for farm programs. The measure, authored by House Agriculture General Farm Commodities Subcommittee Chairman Bob Etheridge and ranking member Jerry Moran, clarifies language in the 2008 farm bill that ends some subsidies to farmers with only 10 acres of land or less.

The article reports on efforts of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee to speed up the passage of a legislation that would combat energy market manipulation and excessive speculation. The committee will move up a hearing from June 25, 2008 to June 24 that addresses concerns that unfair market practices are artificially inflating energy prices, and then mark up the bill introduced by Agriculture General Farm Commodities Subcommittee Chairman Bob Etheridge.

The article reports that acting U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Walter Lukken will ask the Congress for increased authority to regulate Exempt Commercial Markets, where certain commodities such as energy products are traded by institutions. That linkage was not anticipated when the Modernization Act was passed several years ago, Lukken says in prepared testimony for the House Agriculture General Farm Commodities and Risk Subcommittee.

The article focuses on U.S. Representative Ron Kind's proposal to end all farm programs within a few years in favor of creating farmer savings accounts, and the reaction of fellow members to his suggestion. He made the statement in the Agriculture General Farm Commodities Subcommittee hearing. Representative Frank Lucas described the proposal as frightening and implored Democrats to stop him from offering it during House debates. Representative Earl Pomeroy, too joined Lucas in the tirade.

The article reports that a U.S. House Agriculture subcommittee has voted to extend the 2002 farm bill's commodity title in the new farm bill rather than make the changes in target prices and loan rates for crops as proposed by Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson. Besides rejecting changes in target prices and loan rates, the Agriculture General Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee has rejected proposals to impose tougher payment limitations on farm subsidies.

The article reports that opponents of current farm policy are going to get their chance to have their proposals debated. U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson said that he expects the Agriculture General Farm Commodities Subcommittee to debate and possibly vote on the alternatives that will include the bill introduced by Representatives Ron Kind and Jeff Flake which would end all crop, dairy and sugar programs and replace them with spending on rural development.

The article reports that U.S. House Agriculture General Farm Commodities Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Moran, said today that he told all sides negotiating the Doha round trade talks in Geneva that the United States' proposal to cut farm subsidies could not pass Congress without concessions in market access from the European Union and others. Speaking from Geneva, Moran also said he does not believe negotiators will meet the April 30 deadline for a detailed agreement. Moran and Representative Jo Ann Emerson predicted that World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Pascal Lamy would not offer his own proposal to try to force the 140 WTO members to come to an agreement.

This article reports that U.S. House Representative Charlie Melancon, criticized officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for not using a special provision to help Louisiana farmers hurt by Hurricane Katrina as they did for Florida farmers harmed by last year's hurricane there. Melancon asked USDA Chief Economist Keith Collins at a House Agriculture General Commodities Subcommittee hearing on the state of the farm economy. Collins replied that it was "unfair" to make such a statement about the USDA's performance in Louisiana because the agency has delivered so much food aid to the state and arranged for emergency food stamps for hurricane victims. Melancon said that USDA last year used Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act to help farmers in Florida but has not used it in Louisiana. Section 32 gives the USDA wide authority to strengthen farm prices and is financed by a permanent appropriation equal to 30 percent of the import duties, plus any unused balances up to $300 million.

The article reports that U.S. Agriculture Department Chief Economist Keith Collins said that he believes the U.S. allowance of $19.1 billion in trade-distorting subsidies could be cut in half by the Doha Round of trade negotiations. Collins made the statement at a House Agriculture General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee hearing on the crop insurance program. Collins said the U.S. might turn to a bigger crop insurance program as an alternative safety net for farmers because crop insurance is classified separately from the product-specific trade-distorting subsidies, in a category called de minimis. But Collins also warned that category is limited to 5 percent of U.S. production and the ability to use crop insurance would depend on what other programs are classified with it and the size of the de minimis category after negotiations are concluded.

The article informs that U.S. House Agriculture General Farm Commodities Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Moran, said on Monday that he believes U.S. President George W. Bush will ask the U.S. Congress to cut $ 14 billion to $ 18 billion from the agriculture budget over the next 10 years. Moran talked to reporters after telling the American Farm Bureau Federation convention in Charlotte that farmers and ranchers will have to fight hard to maintain the "integrity" of the 2002 farm law. Moran said the House Agriculture Committee will begin holding hearings on the next farm bill this year with a goal of writing a bill in 2006, but that he is not certain it will be finished before the 2006 elections.

Reports on United States House Agriculture General Farm Commodities & Risk Management Subcommittee member Calvin Dooley's comments on the Budget Committee's deadline for the Agriculture Committee to rewrite the commodity title of the 1996 farm bill. Timetable for the rewrite; Dooley's comments on the U.S. Senate's stance toward the rewrite.