TIFTON, Ga.— Following nearly two years of hearings, debate and compromise the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives approved the farm bill this week while Georgia’s peanut farmers are in the midst of planting their 2008 crop. Many farmers started planting peanuts in the state when there was uncertainty as to what the final farm bill language would contain. On May 14, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the conference report on H.R. 2419, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 by a vote of 318-106. The Senate followed suit on May 15 and passed the conference report by a vote of 81-15.

“Senator Saxby Chambliss worked very hard to make sure Georgia peanut producers were protected in this farm bill. Maintaining the 2002 program, storage and handling fees, a new rotation program and the new permanent disaster program are all helpful to Georgia’s rural economy,” says Armond Morris, Georgia Peanut Commission chairman and peanut farmer from Ocilla, Ga. “We are hopeful that President Bush will not veto the bill even though he has threatened to do so.”

According to House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., this farm bill contains more reform than any farm bill in history. Farm programs only account for roughly 12 percent of this bill.

Nearly three-fourths of the farm bill will support nutrition programs that help 38 million American families afford healthy food. The legislation also boosts conservation programs that reduce soil erosion, enhance water supplies, improve water and air quality, and reduce damage caused by floods and other natural disasters.

Key Peanut Provisions included in the bill are:
Storage and Handling Fees for Peanuts
New UGA National Center for Peanut Competitiveness Rotation Program
Permanent Disaster Program
Separate Payment Limit for Peanuts
Separate Peanut Section in the Commodity Title

The Adjusted Gross Income payment limits are capped at $750,000 for on-farm income and $500,000 for non-farm income.

“The Food, Conservation and Energy Act makes essential improvements in the food, farm and conservation programs that meet the needs of Americans in cities, suburbs and rural communities nationwide,” says House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said. “This bill will help working American families struggling with high food prices and will ensure that our farmers and ranchers can continue to provide a safe, abundant, homegrown supply of food and fiber.”

“The final bill contains less money than in the 2002 Farm Bill but the bill provides a safety net for growers and allows us to move into the future with a new conservation rotation initiative,” Morris says.

“Many of the needs of Southwest Georgia are addressed by this bill,” says U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Ga. “The peanut rotation program, which we paved the way for in the House bill last summer, will bring peanut growers into the next generation of agriculture by encouraging a cleaner, greener method of planting while ensuring an affordable and accessible supply to the markets that rely on U.S.-grown peanuts.”

To view the 2008 Farm Bill peanut provisions, visit www.Americanpeanuts.com. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 will now be sent to President Bush for his signature.