Larry Combest: “Like the gentleman from Virginia, I recognize and respect the role that the farmers have played in our Nation's history…”

“Like the gentleman from Virginia, I recognize and respect the role that the farmers have played in our Nation's history and the importance of their work to our national economy. The development of this bill represents the best package we could achieve in balancing critical needs for commodity, conservation, trade, nutrition, credit, rural development, and research programs, while fitting into the fiscal restraints given to us by the budget resolution. I appreciate the gentleman's concern about the peanut provisions of the bill, and I am pleased that we have been able to work with him to accommodate some of those concerns. Specifically, we have proposed a change in the manager's amendment that would allow a producer to establish a base, at which point the producer would have a one time ability to set the base on any land that he chooses. This would give the producer the ability to put the base on land he owns or will give the producer a better bargaining position if he sets down this base on the land he rents. I thank the gentleman for his work and concern on this issue and I look forward to working with him to continue to address the problems and concerns that he has of the producers of Virginia as this bill goes forward to conference with the Senate.”