Following a letter today from the House Agriculture Committee to House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.) urging that the budget panel take into account the sizable savings previously contributed by the farm bill when weighing future cuts under a potential budget reconciliation measure, American Soybean Association (ASA) President Wade Cowan expressed ASA’s full support for the agriculture committee’s request.

“Soybean farmers worked very hard to pass what we believe to be a fair and well-balanced farm bill that addresses our need for certainty, while still allowing the market to drive soybean production, as it should. In helping to craft the bill, ASA supported measures that shore up the farm and food safety net while contributing to more than $16 billion in spending reductions. What resulted from that work is a nutrition, conservation and risk management bill that represents just 2 percent of federal spending. Digging deeper, the combined cost of crop insurance and commodity programs in the farm bill are less than one third of one percent of the federal budget.

“We echo the call from Chairman Conaway, Ranking Member Peterson and all the members of the Agriculture Committee to protect the vital farm bill framework, including crop insurance and risk management, especially in a time of volatile and uncertain markets. Further, we encourage the protection of the bill’s conservation and trade programs that help our farmers achieve their goals of cleaner soils, water and air, and healthy foreign markets.

“In short, now is hardly the time to trim pieces off the farm safety net or from the programs that help us address our trade and conservation goals. We hope that Chairman Price will note the importance of these programs as he looks to address our nation’s fiscal responsibilities.”