"That is how difficult it is. That is the reason I keep saying this next decade is going to be extremely difficult."
"We had this conservation with the previous panel and one of my concerns is about our competitiveness."
"If we are setting the template... we ought to make certain that we do it right, as compared to just do it."
"I am astonished by that, knowing what the consequences will be."
"I assume that you would all concur with the reality that agriculture will be dramatically affected by a piece of legislation."
"To my knowledge, no agricultural witness was asked to testify or testified during any of those hearings."
"It would make us less competitive."
"In the absence of these agricultural offsets, it is not just agriculture that is negatively affected... the entire U.S. economy."
"A quarter to a third of what income we produce in agriculture comes from our ability to export agricultural commodities."
"And I guess my question would be, do you endorse this bill, or do you just endorse the concept behind the bill?"
"I am interested in knowing whether USDA has completed, even in preliminary form, any assessment of the additional costs to farmers for fertilizer, for natural gas, for diesel fuel."