In 1996, Senator Paul Coverdell and the Republican Congress passed the "Freedom to Farm” bill, which removed the federal safety net for farmers by phasing out traditional price supports. When the bill became law, Coverdell told Georgia’s farmers that federal crop insurance would be enough to protect them when times were hard. Coverdell hailed the farm bill he helped write as “simply good for Georgia and the nation” and assured farmers that it would not jeopardize Georgia’s rural economy or Georgia’s family farms. It is now 1998, and Coverdell’s claims have been proven false. A glut in some agriculture markets coupled with a terrible drought has hit Georgia agriculture hard. Weather-related farm losses in Georgia are now at $767 million and rising. The Farm Bureau estimates that one-quarter of Georgia farmers could go out of business this year because of foreclosures and lack of funding. Coverdell and his Republican colleagues are now running for cover from a legislative disaster of their own making. In this election year, they are working overtime to appear sensitive to the needs of farmers. Coverdell, who has made millions as an insurance salesman, has appeared before groups of angry farmers promising to overhaul the current system -- a system he created. The fact remains that Coverdell has made no effort to address the real problems Georgia’s farmers are facing. The current farm insurance scheme does not protect farmers who suffer back-to-back losses because payment on those policies is based upon past crop yields. Under the current scheme, the only people who prosper are the insurance companies. Now, Coverdell assures Georgia farmers that he will be able to help them by speeding up the disbursement of “transition payments” provided by the Farm bill. Not coincidentally, the payments will arrive just weeks before the general election in November. However, the majority of Georgia’s farmers are not covered by that program and do not qualify for “transition” payments. The limited emergency money that Coverdell is promising is merely a small, temporary bandage for the gaping wound that he and his allies infected upon farmers two years ago. We need to do more to provide long-term protection for family farms. Right now, farmers must go begging on a case-by-case basis to Congress for emergency assistance. This process is slow and is not guaranteed to deliver results. There should be a plan already in place to help farmers during severe droughts. The crop insurance programs should be, at the very least, completely overhauled. The value of insurance policies should be at least based upon the amount invested by the farmer -- not past yields. The federal government should also be prepared to assist farmers in emergencies with more than hollow promises and rhetoric. As it stands now, no money has been appropriated for Emergency Farm Disaster Relief since the passage of Freedom to Farm. The U.S. Department of Agriculture should deal with farm losses caused by floods or droughts in the same manner that the Federal Emergency Management Agency deals with the loss of a home or a business due to natural disaster -- making substantial emergency assistance immediately available. In Georgia, the family farm is an integral part of our history and our culture. It is also a vital part of Georgia’s future. Over 30 percent of Georgia’s population is employed in farm-related work. We may not be able to control or predict natural disasters, but it is within our power to repair legislative ones. Paul Coverdell had his chance to help Georgia’s farmers and has failed. If Paul Coverdell is allowed to remain on the Senate Agriculture committee, family farms will continue to be replaced by large corporate farms and Georgia’s independent farmer will become little more than a sharecropper. My approach to Georgia’s agricultural issues comes from the perspective of someone who started as a small businessman -- not an insurance salesman. It is critical that we preserve the financial independence of Georgia’s small farmer. Paul Coverdell - seems to have forgotten that the family farm is the backbone of Georgia’s rural community and a vital part of Georgia's economic future. I have not. |
