Overview of Senate Agriculture Committee's 1st 2012 Farm Bill Hearing: Importance of American Involvment in Global Food Supply

 Senate Agriculture Committee Hearing and First Hearing for 2012 Farm Bill

The purpose of the hearing was to discuss the role, risks and challenges for American Agriculture and the 2012 Farm Bill in meeting the food, fiber, and fuel demands of a growing world.

Panel I Witnesses:

Secretary Tom Vilsack

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary

·         The world’s growing population and incomes in developing countries will add to the demand for food, fuel, and fiber over the next 40 years. The United Nations estimates that the world’s population will reach 9.3 billion people by 2050. Per capita incomes are also expected to be higher which will create middle classes that demand higher quality foods such as proteins. Food demand is estimated to rise from 70 to 100 percent by 2050.

-          The U.S. agricultural sector must remain efficient and competitive 

-          Must meet challenges through research

-          Must focus on trade in addressing food needs and driving prosperity

·         Policy must be tailored to meet future needs. The risks and opportunities that are continually facing farmers and ranchers are always changing and thus policy must be adapted to meet those changes.

-          Enhancing conservation

-          Creating a green and cleaner future

-          Supporting agriculture research

-          Maintaining a strong safety net for U.S. producers

-          Developing new and beginning farmers and ranchers

Panel II Witnesses

Honorable Dan Glickman

Co-Chair of the Chicago Council’s Global Agricultural Development Initiative; former Secretary of Agriculture; Senior Fellow, Bipartisan Policy Center

·         The attention that the U.S. government has given the global agriculture community since 2009 has been instrumental. In the past, this area was neglected, but America’s agriculture institutions are now part of a transformation that addresses the challenge of global hunger and at the same time, supports U.S. food and agriculture interests.

-          Food security contributes to U.S. economic and national security

-          American leadership is pivotal in combating global hunger

-          Much progress in delivery of global agriculture development

-          Future opportunities for U.S. leadership in global development

-          Support for extension services in developing countries critical

         

Mr. Barry Mumby

Senior Member Wakeshma Farms LLC, Colon, MI

·         American must be allowed to produce in a manner that allows them to produce yields better than the rest of the world. American growers can continue to improve crop yields and maintain the high productive quality of the nation’s topsoil in an environmentally sound fashion.

-          World carry out of nearly all grains continues to decline

-          Hard red winter wheat yields hurt by global droughts

-          U.S. farmer has a moral obligation to feed the masses

-          Safety net needed to buffer from weather losses & financial meltdowns

-          Utilize current crop insurance agents but keep premiums low to the farmer

Dr. Andrew Rosenburg.

Senior Vice President for Science and Knowledge Conservation International

·         The agricultural sector is a major driver of rural economic development. Food production from agriculture must not only be improved, but also aquaculture and fisheries and the conservation of the natural systems upon which that production depends.

-          Demand for food from a growing and wealthier population must be met

-          Increase production in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner

-          Ensure that the world’s poorest people are no longer hungry

Mr. Douglas DeVires

Senior Vice President Global Marketing Services, Agriculture and Turf Division Deer and Company

·         Productivity gap must be closed to combat global food demand trends. Failure to do so will result in increased malnutrition, starvation, and faltering world economies.

-          Trade must be enhanced

-          Strategic investments and research needed

-          Focus must be on sustainability

-          Advances in machinery and soft infrastructure important in achieving goals

Dr. Per Pinstrup-Andersen

H.E. Babcock Professor of Food, Nutrition and Public Policy, the J. Thomas Clark Professor of Entrepreneurship and Professor of Applied Economics
Cornell University; and Professor of Agricultural Economics, Copenhagen University

·         The ability of the world to feed future generations has been questioned. Recent developments may be a short- run blip in the long-run trend of stable food prices or beginning of constant volatile prices of food. There are six issues that should be drawn attention to during the drafting of the 2012 Farm bill.

o   U.S. Agriculture will be a very important source of food for world’s population

o   Large fluctuations in food production and food price volatility leads to increased risk

o   Difficult to estimate exports demands due to international food prices

o   Up to 1 billion people suffer from inadequate intakes of nutrients

o   Trend in low food prices from 1974-2000 has led to complacency towards investments in agriculture.

o   Failure to sustain sustainable natural resources makes it impossible to provide for the world’s future food needs