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“DISASTER FACING AGRICULTURE BASE OF NORTH DAKOTA” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H4951-H4952 on June 22, 1998.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
DISASTER FACING AGRICULTURE BASE OF NORTH DAKOTA
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Speaker, a year ago Grand Forks, North Dakota, was ravaged by flooding waters from the Red River. The eyes of the Nation watched with horror as this city of 50,000 suffered not just a devastating flooding event, but, in the middle of all else, fires began in the downtown that ravaged 11 of the major buildings in downtown Grand Forks as well. The attention of this body was focused on that event, and the assistance resulting in the disaster supplemental appropriations bill really played a very critical role in our ability to begin the rebuilding process, a process that continues even today.
Today I take the floor to tell you of another disaster, a disaster that, at least as far as North Dakota is concerned, is every bit as threatening, every bit as devastating, every bit as disastrous as the Grand Forks flood. But this disaster, chances are you will have never heard of, not seen a second of television footage, and be utterly unaware it is occurring. This is a stealth disaster, and it is a disaster facing the agriculture base of the State of North Dakota.
This chart tells the story, just as clearly as this story can be told. The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that in 1996, the net farm income in North Dakota totaled $764 million. One year later, that total had fallen to $15 million net farm income for the entire State, a drop of 98 percent.
The average North Dakota producer lost $23,000 last year, and the average North Dakota producer is, by the way, a family farm, relatively modest in income levels, even in the best of years; a loss of $23,000 last year. Across the State, those making loans available to farmers report that 80 of the borrowers lost money last year.
This disaster is the stealth disaster. Hopefully the remarks of my colleague, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Minge), the remarks I am making, and our ongoing effort will make it less of a stealth disaster in the weeks to come, but its depth and its consequences are as serious as I could possibly begin to tell you.
One of the consequences inevitably of the kind of economic results I have just spoken of is revealed in this kind of cryptic gallows humor cartoon. It says ``'tis spring, 'tis spring,'' and it has got the vultures flying over the farm auction postings, a very apt characterization of precisely what is reflected in the newspapers advertising farm auctions. Pages and pages and pages of auction sales reflecting the end of a multi-generation of family farming operations.
Typically each and every auction revealed in these many pages will be a family farm, initially homesteaded, perhaps a century ago, and then farmed successfully now for several generations, until the devastation we have now seen has made continuation of that family farming entity impossible.
Why is this happening? What could possibly be bringing this about? Well, first of all, it is a combination of disastrous production conditions, coupled with disastrous prices, and all occurring in the backdrop of a new farm policy, a farm policy of this country that essentially has substantially reduced in meaningful ways the types of support and assistance the Federal Government had previously maintained for decades to family farmers when they get into trouble.
I think it is important for us to look at the changes in farm policy and draw conclusions in terms of what we must do in the future to react. Clearly, the results shown in North Dakota show the existing safety net is not meeting the challenge facing the farmers in our area and across the country.
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