Byron Dorgan: “I was listening attentively to the Senator describe his amendment dealing with the issue of sugar. He finished by…”

“I was listening attentively to the Senator describe his amendment dealing with the issue of sugar. He finished by talking about sugar growers. Of course, the Senator understands that no one grows sugar; they grow sugar beets, to be sure, and the beets are processed into sugar. The issue as presented by my colleague is an interesting issue and an important issue. This morning in North Dakota and elsewhere in the country, some folks got up and ate breakfast early. These were families with a full day's work to do. They need to keep their machinery in order, tend to their land, look over their sugar beet crops. Farmers work pretty hard. They invest a fair amount of money into a farmstead and try to make a living. One of the circumstances we find in the farm programs is that there are difficult times for people who are out there living. There are difficult times for those trying to make a living because there is so much uncertainty. You can plant, and in no time at all through a whole series of things over which you have no control, you see everything gone. Acts of nature, a whole range of circumstances can conspire to wipe you out completely and quickly. For that reason, the Federal Government has had a farm program. The Federal Government has said we believe there ought to be a network of family farmers in this country who have an opportunity to make it. So for a whole series of farmers raising crops, we have tried to create a safety net.”