August 9, 2017
www.gfb.org
Vol. 35 No. 16
NATIONAL FARM POLICY KEY TOPIC AT GFB COMMODITY CONFERENCE Georgia Farm Bureau’s refinement of its organizational policy for 2018 started with the 2017 GFB Commodity Conference, held Aug. 3 at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center. Members from all of GFB’s Commodity Advisory Committees gathered and heard updates on national farm policy and research by the UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, then got down to business with committee meetings to consider changes to GFB policy. “The diversity of our organization is reflected here today. We have members of all 20 of our commodity committees here today,” Long said. “This meeting is one of our most important all year because it is where we begin our policy development process.” Speakers addressed the 2018 farm bill, national cotton policy, controlling the spread of avian influenza and USDA priorities under new Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. Bob Redding, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Redding Firm, a legislative consulting group that specializes in federal agricultural legislation, Bob Redding provided an update on the 2018 farm bill. “The next two to three months will be a very important period. The House & The next issue of Senate Ag Committee staff will do a lot of work in August and committee GFB News Alert members will meet in September. If the House and Senate Ag Committees get comes out legislation ready this fall, there may be a window to get it passed before they go August 23. home for Christmas,” Redding said. “Moving a bill next year will be hard because it’s an election year.” National Cotton Council (NCC) President & Chief Executive Dr. Gary Adams gave an overview of how the current farm bill impacts cotton growers and changes the cotton sector would like to see in the pending legislation. “The National Cotton Council is making the point that in terms of returns to cost of production growers have a shortfall of about $100 an acre,” Adams said. He said the NCC is working to secure short-term economic assistance to bridge the gap until the next farm bill is in effect, which would help offset the effects of the current long-term slump in commodity prices. Such assistance would include obtaining a cost share or cottonseed program through appropriations legislation that would make cottonseed eligible for the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) programs under the 2014 farm bill and establish cottonseed as a covered commodity beginning with the 2018 crop. “We’re working to get cotton back into the Title 1 part of the farm bill and our possible options are tied to cotton fiber or cottonseed,” Adams said. -continued on next page