Opening Statement of Senator Tom Harkin Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Hearing on Energy and Agriculture Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for calling this important hearing on energy policy and the impact of high energy prices on American agriculture. I have been working on these issues for some time. In March, I sent a letter to Secretary Richardson and Secretary Glickman, and I am pleased by their decision to form a working group to examine the implications of high oil prices for farmers. I have also been very much involved in getting to the bottom of the exorbitant increases in gasoline prices in the Midwest.
Farmers have a lot at stake with respect to energy costs and our national energy policies.
Even though farmers have greatly increased their energy efficiency, they are still highly vulnerable to energy price increases - especially when their financial circumstances are already very tight, as they are now. Higher energy prices are also reflected in greater costs for grain drying, fertilizer and pesticides. So any actions that can be taken to alleviate the impacts on farmers would certainly help. Frankly, though, I see agriculture much more as a solution to our energy challenges than as a problem area. We have barely scratched the surface of the potential for agriculture to supply domestically produced, renewable and environmentally friendly energy.