Michael Bennet: “I thank my friend from Oklahoma for yielding. I wish to speak about the farm bill which, thanks to months and months and…”

“I thank my friend from Oklahoma for yielding. I wish to speak about the farm bill which, thanks to months and months and actually years of tireless work by Chairwoman Stabenow, Ranking Member Cochran, and other conferees on the bill, Democrats and Republicans in both Houses of Congress--thanks to all of this work, we are going to be able to pass this bill this afternoon. There are 16 million people working in agriculture in our country. These workers and our rural communities are demanding the certainty which comes with a long-term bill. I am pleased to say we are passing not a 2-month extension, not a 10-minute extension, not an ``I hope we get it done tomorrow before we leave town'' extension but a genuine 5- year farm bill, which is going to give us a lot of certainty. This bill eliminates direct payments made to farmers regardless of market conditions or what they planted and prioritizes what is working for producers; namely, crop insurance. I have spoken on the floor before about Colorado's battle against historic drought conditions. Some of our farmers lost half their corn yields in 2012. It is hard to imagine any business losing half its production in 1 year, but that is what has happened to many Colorado corn producers. Mr. President, 2013 was a little better for corn in our State, but it is hard to celebrate when producers still face significant losses fighting against this dry soil.…”