Byron Dorgan: “there is a pretty wide gap between what Washington thinks and what farmers know. This, after all, is about family…”

“there is a pretty wide gap between what Washington thinks and what farmers know. This, after all, is about family farmers. That is what the issue is: emergency help for family farmers. There are a whole lot of folks in the country struggling to make a living. Prices family farmers receive--the price for commodities--have collapsed to 1930 levels in real dollars. I heard some people say: Things are improving. Yes, the price of cattle has improved, there is no question about that, but I guarantee, there is no one who serves in the Senate who has seen their income diminished in any way that resembles what has happened to family farmers. Grain prices are still at a very significant low. When one takes particular grains and say they are at a 17-year low or 25-year low and then say they have improved slightly from that, the improvement 'slightly' does not mean very much. It doesn't mean much to family farmers if slight improvements in the prices they receive means they are going to go broke probably a few weeks later. The fact is, our family farmers are in desperate trouble. The point I make is this is an emergency supplemental bill dealing with agriculture. It is in the budget, it is provided for, and we are trying to get some help out as soon as we can to family farmers.”