Liz Saville Roberts: “Most of the critics of the current act have recommended that we rewrite the farm bill, and I think most, at least--and I…”

“Most of the critics of the current act have recommended that we rewrite the farm bill, and I think most, at least--and I don't want to be too specific here because I am not sure--have indicated they would like a return to set-aside programs and higher loan rates and farmer-owned reserves, basically a return to the old farm bill. They say we need to do it so we can control production and increase the price of our commodities. Lord knows, I would like to try anything, almost, to increase the price of our commodities. My question is this: How do we convince our competitors to follow suit? Past history shows us that when we reduce our acreages, our competitors do not follow suit. World stocks are not reduced. They increase their production by more than we reduce ours. There is no clearer example than during the 5-year period from 1982 to 1988 when the United States harvested 12 million fewer acres of soybeans and, during the same period, Argentina and Brazil increased their production by 14 million acres. Guess which countries are now the largest competitors of the United States in the soybean market.”