Instead, the next farm bill should continue to pursue international trading opportunities around the world and policies to export our products. Congress passed legislation last year to grant permanent normal trade status with China, which is beneficial to Iowa producers. Another step would be to give the President a stronger negotiating position with fast-track trade authority, allowing the President to negotiate trade agreements with other nations that Congress would either accept in full or reject. Our international sanction policies need to be clearer and more consistent so that the U.S. is not viewed as an unreliable supplier. It is also time to renew trade with Cuba.
Individual farmers can t control export policy.
That is why Congress must structure legislation to enhance U.S. uses for commodities, like ethanol. That is why I introduced the Clean Air and Water Preservation Act, which phases out the use of MTBE and encourages the use of ethanol. Numerous groups, including the Iowa Farm Bureau and the Iowa Corn Growers Association backed the bill. The next farm bill needs to create a mechanism to keep farm income on a more even keel, with provisions to provide relief to the rural community when prices are not sufficient to keep from losing our family farms. The challenge is to develop a consensus which will provide real support for producers, while allowing them as much flexibility as possible.