Byron Dorgan: “Today, along with Senators Roberts, Conrad, Johnson and Brownback, I am introducing legislation to clarify Congressional…”

“Today, along with Senators Roberts, Conrad, Johnson and Brownback, I am introducing legislation to clarify Congressional intent regarding minor oilseed loan rates in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act, FSRIA, of 2002. In early June, the United States Department of Agriculture incorrectly interpreted the intent of the new farm bill when the Farm Service Agency arbitrarily announced a wide range of minor oilseed loan rates. For some crops, the loan rate increased substantially, while for others, the rates plunged. Not once during the farm bill debate was there ever discussion of splitting apart minor oilseed loan rates. In fact, the minor oilseed industry and farmers alike anticipated a county-level increase in loan rates from $9.30 to $9.60/cwt. The announcement by the Farm Service Agency caught virtually everyone in the agriculture community by surprise. This legislation is intended to correct this misinterpretation of the new farm bill, and to prevent what will certainly be extreme acreage shifts among these crops in the coming years should these rates be allowed to stand.”