The American Soybean Association (ASA) is renewing its call for Vice President Al Gore to personally intervene in efforts to include large quantities of soy in U.S. food aid initiatives following the announcement last week that only 425,000 tons of soybeans and soybean products were included in the government’s recent Food Aid package. ASA previously provided the Administration with detailed proposals outlining utilization of more than 3.7 million tons of soy for distribution by private relief organizations and under government-to-government food aid agreements.

“While we're pleased that some soy was included in the food aid allocation announced last week, we see this as only a small first step,” said ASA President Marc Curtis, a soybean, corn, rice, wheat and milo producer from Leland, Miss. “This is a start, but now the Administration needs to get serious about implementing more of the soy food aid initiative that ASA presented last year.”

When Vice President Albert Gore visited the Perry, Ia., farm of ASA members Dave, Ed and Steve Menz one month ago just prior to the Iowa Caucuses, the one critical issue the farmers presented to him was that to help soybean farmers the Vice President would need to personally take action to ensure that large quantities of soy would be included in the Food Aid initiative.

Later while campaigning in Iowa, Vice President Gore said, "I will move heaven and earth," to try to help family farmers.

With the Vice President’s quote in mind, Curtis said, “If this is it, if this is the result of the Vice President's effort, ASA is extremely disappointed. However, we are hopeful that the Vice President hasn’t yet applied himself to this issue—which we're calling on him to do—because so far, we’re not too impressed with the amount of soy that’s been included in the program.”

The ASA has been working for nearly a year to advance the inclusion of $1 billion of soy products, a total of 3.7 million tons of soy, in federal humanitarian assistance programs to reduce inventories of surplus soybeans. The remaining soy would be exported under the Commodity Credit Corporation’s (CCC) Charter Act and Section 416(b) authorities for concessional sales. By utilizing large quantities of surplus soybeans, the program would promote higher prices paid to farmers, which in turn would have a beneficial budget offsetting effect of decreasing government payments to farmers through the loan deficiency payment (LDP) program.

As of Feb. 18, the government’s LDP program has already paid out more than $2 billion to soybean producers at an average rate of $0.92 per bushel because the price of soybeans has fallen below the loan level. For every dollar expended on Food Aid shipments, there would be a probable return of at least one dollar, if not more, in terms of decreased government expenditures under the soybean loan program this year and next year.

“ASA understands that part of the controversy within the Administration has been budget expenditures, however, we think the Administration is being penny wise and pound foolish not to see the value in exporting more soy through the food aid program,” Curtis said. “We need the Vice President to get engaged on this now and stop the inter-agency wrangling that's been happening over Food Aid.”

Reducing stocks of soybeans through the food aid program would not only help farmers and offset government spending, but it would also help feed hungry people and introduce U.S. soybean products into new markets around the world.

ASA is not alone in its efforts to include soy in the government’s Food Aid efforts. Working with ASA is a group of private voluntary organizations (PVOs), including some religious groups, such as Catholic Relief Services, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, and World Vision, and other charitable and developmental organizations, such as C.A.R.E., Save the Children, and Afri-Care. ASA and these organizations view the soy food aid initiative as an opportunity to help starving people in a hundred-plus countries around the world that are food-deficit.

“Washington has served up an appetizer—now its time to deliver the main course for the benefit of the American farmer, for the taxpayer, and for hungry people overseas.” Curtis said.