Agriculture advocacy groups have reacted with a flurry of unhappy responses to President Obama’s Feb. 1 release of his proposed 2011 budget.
The proposed budget “reflects the serious challenges facing the country,” said Obama the day of its release. “We’re at war. Our economy has lost 7 million jobs over the last two years. And our government is deeply in debt after what can only be described as a decade of profligacy.” Read Obama’s full statement on page 2
Obama’s attempt to control government spending (pegged at over $1.5 trillion for this year) would mean payment cuts not only to large farmers (more than $2 billion over a decade) and agriculture-related insurance (some $8 billion over a decade) — but also, to the consternation of some environmental groups, would reduce the growth of conservation programs.
Crop insurance has been on the Obama administration’s radar for months. The latest budget comes after the December release of a proposal for a new Federal Crop Insurance Program. According to the budget proposal “crop-insurance companies currently benefit from huge windfall profits due to the structure and terms of the government’s contract with the companies, called the Standard Reinsurance Agreement.
Two other proposals sure to draw growers’ ire are:
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