Source: PRESS RELEASE, 2/4/14

U.S. Senator Kay Hagan helped pass the bipartisan 2014 Farm Bill today with key provisions for North Carolina’s farmers and rural communities. The legislation, which represents the most significant reform of agriculture programs in decades, sets farm policy for the next five years and reduces the deficit by $17 billion. It now goes to the President to be signed into law.

“I am so pleased that today, farmers in North Carolina and across the country are finally receiving the certainty they need,” said Hagan. “This bill is a true win for our state, where agriculture sustains hundreds of thousands of jobs and serves as the lifeblood of many of our rural communities. I am proud that the legislation includes several provisions I worked on to help ensure North Carolina farmers can continue to expand and create jobs and access new safety net measures that will help them recover from events outside their control, and I will continue working to make sure that our state’s agriculture industry can continue to grow.”

"Senator Hagan worked hard to ensure that priorities of significant interest to many North Carolina farmers were reflected in the new Farm Bill and we appreciate her leadership,” said Erica Peterson, Executive Vice President of the North Carolina Agribusiness Council. “Protecting federal crop insurance and improving the safety net for the farmer helps provide a resources that farmers need in order to do business in today's economy. Farmers are key to continuing to grow NC's #1 industry - Agribusiness, which contributes over $77 billion to our state's economy.”

"The Farm Bill and the safety net that it provides is an essential part of a healthy agriculture for North Carolina and the nation,” said North Carolina Farm Bureau President Larry Wooten. “Farm Bureau thanks Senator Hagan for supporting the movement of this legislation out of the Senate."

“On behalf of the North Carolina Forestry Association, I thank Senator Hagan for her support of an important forest roads provision in the 2014 Farm Bill," said Frank Rackley, NCFA Interim Executive Vice President. "This provision includes language that provides protection from further EPA regulations in an area that is already monitored and regulated by state agencies in North Carolina. We appreciate Senator Hagan’s leadership in resolving this issue and her continued support of forestry issues and the forest products industry in North Carolina. North Carolina has some 18.6 million acres of forestland, and forest products is the state’s top manufacturing industry, providing jobs across our state and especially in our rural communities.”

Agriculture is North Carolina’s largest industry, generating $77 billion in economic activity and employing nearly one-fifth of the state’s workforce.

Provisions Hagan secured important to North Carolina:

•      Hagan amendment to strengthen crop insurance fraud prevention. After the largest-ever crop insurance fraud ring was uncovered in North Carolina last year, Hagan heard from farmers across the state about their concerns that in these difficult budget times, the actions of a few bad actors could jeopardize federal crop insurance programs. Hagan sponsored an amendment that provides the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with the necessary resources to combat fraud and preserve safety-net programs for honest law abiding farmers. That amendment passed the Senate last year by a vote of 94-0.

•      Additional funding for a program that provides technical assistance to socially disadvantaged farmers and farmers returning from service in the U.S. military. Hagan requested that $50 million be included in the farm bill over five years to help these individuals successfully acquire, own, operate and retain farms.

•      Reinstatement of the Economic Adjustment Assistance Program (EAAP). This program is vital to North Carolina’s textile and cotton producing sectors. The program provides a payment to U.S. textile manufacturers for all upland cotton consumed, stimulating new investment in textile plants and equipment and resulting in increased domestic cotton consumption and jobs.

•      Full funding of the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program. More than 1.7 million acres in North Carolina are federal lands that cannot be taxed and, as a result, county governments lose vital tax revenue each year. Many North Carolina counties depend on PILT to help pay for essential services such as law enforcement, public safety, infrastructure maintenance, education and health services.

•      Provision that provides North Carolina's forestry industries with much-needed clarity on an EPA regulation that does little or nothing to protect water quality.

During floor debate of the 2013 Senate Farm Bill, Hagan also led a bipartisan coalition in defeating an amendment that would have prevented tobacco farmers from receiving federal crop insurance. Passage of the amendment would have significantly harmed roughly 2,000 small tobacco farmers in North Carolina, increased imports of foreign tobacco, and done nothing to lower smoking rates.

Hagan also continues to work on behalf of North Carolina’s small tobacco farmers. In November, she urged the USDA and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to exempt the final year of the Tobacco Transition Payment Program (TTPP) from budget sequestration. Earlier this month, the USDA and OMB agreed to prevent reductions to the payments.

The farm bill passed by the Senate today eliminates direct payments and creates new safety net programs for farmers. Instead of subsidies that pay out every year even in good times, the bill creates risk management tools that help farmers recover from losses caused by events outside their control.

By reforming the direct payment system, streamlining programs and cracking down on abuse, the legislation slashes the deficit by $17 billion.