Rod Grams: “As the Nation's farmers look ahead to the new planting season, I rise today in support of moving forward on much-needed…”

“As the Nation's farmers look ahead to the new planting season, I rise today in support of moving forward on much-needed farm bill legislation. Over the past year, I have met with farmers, businesses, bankers, and community leaders across Minnesota. They have told me of the urgent need to develop a farm bill which will show them the direction farm policy will move over the next couple of years. Clearly, our farmers and agribusinesses deserve a reasonable and responsible roadmap of the Nation's long-term agricultural policy. If Washington continues to delay action, decisions about planting, equipment purchases, fertilizer and seed sales, and credit hang in the balance. And as a result, our agricultural economy will suffer. This current predicament is a perfect example of how Government interference in the area of agriculture has taken its toll on the productivity of our farmers, agribusinesses, and the other sectors of our economy which depend on them. By expanding the role of Government so deeply into the business of farming, Washington has taken much of the decision-making authority away from the real experts--those who have planted, plowed, and harvested for generations--and handed it over to bureaucrats, some of whom are thousands of miles away from America's heartland.”