In The News

Originally Published in The Millen News.

U.S. Congressman Rick Allen, 12th Congressional District, is addressing issues that he feels are critical to the next Farm Bill. The 2018 Farm Bill was extended for an additional year while Congress works to write and adopt a new one.

In an interview with The Millen News last week, Rep. Allen spoke of the importance of the Farm Bill to not only agriculture interests but the nation as a whole.

“If we don’t properly support the Farm Bill, it could disrupt our food security, and make us dependent upon foreign countries. That is a national security risk,” he warned.

Rep. Allen called attention to the fact that 80% of the Farm Bill is mandatory because it covers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps, as well as a variety of smaller nutrition programs to help low-income Americans afford food for their families.

“We are working on a nonpartisan basis to address nutrition issues in the Farm Bill,” he said.

Foreign competition is also an issue the Congressman feels is a threat to the nation’s food security.

“All of these foreign countries have socialist governments. This means they subsidize their own agriculture programs and can make their products cheaper,” Rep. Allen said.

To combat this, the U.S. has negotiated trade agreements with other countries, one of which is the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) which entered into force on July 1, 2020, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

“We still have the most efficient food supply chain in the world. Our agriculture industries give us an abundant food supply with which to compete,” Congressman Allen said.

Earlier this month, Rep. Allen addressed the House Agriculture Committee’s Member Day Hearing in Washington D.C., bringing these issues and others to the attention of those tasked with writ- a new Farm Bill.

He reported that the number one concern he has heard from Georgia farmers is the declining margins, which are lower sale prices, higher costs, or both.

“We are in uncharted waters. They (farmers) are in a fight for their lives to survive this crisis…..It is crucial that we increase reference prices for Title 1 Commodities (corn, wheat, soybeans) in the Farm Bill,” he said.

Rep. Allen supports the strengthening of risk management options such as Agriculture Risk Protection (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC). These programs are sources of additional income for producers to offset crop prices or revenue declines. He also asked the committee to consider a provision to ensure that farmers have coverage should the supply chain create issues with planting or harvesting such as inability to secure agronomic inputs – fertilizers, pesticides, seeds, feed, and others.

He urged members to consider including in the new Farm Bill language similar to that of the American Seasonal and Perishable Crop Support Act that was introduced during the 117th Congress.

“This would protect our growers against foreign markets,” Rep. Allen said.

He also spotlighted the need to address workforce issues.

“Programs such as H-2A are critical for many farmers in my district, but they need reforms to become more widely used by American farmers,” he noted

The H-2A program regulates temporary labor certifications and allows the employment of foreign-born workers when there are not enough sufficient workers.

“A top issue I hear throughout my district is the need for workers. We must discuss the income and employment requirements under the SNAP and get Americans back to work,” Rep. Allen said.

He also advocated for a “robust state lead pesticide agency” in the next Farm Bill.

“This is an issue I have continued to build support for over the last two Congresses, and I have seen first-hand how well the Georgia Department of Agriculture alongside key Georgia industries keep our public safe,” Rep. Allen said.

The Congressman feels that having multiple regulatory bodies in a state does not work and is not effective for protecting public health and the environment.

Rep. Allen is the son of a farmer and has served eight years on the House Agriculture Committee. To secure input from Georgia farmers, he has held several round-table meetings in various locations across Georgia. Local farmers who would like to participate in these events should contact Rep. Allen’s office at https:// allen.house.gov/contact/ to have their names placed on the notification list for these events.

Rep. Allen plans to work closely with the House Agriculture Committee on the issues he feels are vitally important to Georgia’s 12th District.