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“THE FARMERS' PLIGHT” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H1454-H1455 on March 18, 1999.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE FARMERS' PLIGHT
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Miller of Florida). Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, at the Farm Resource Center, a national crisis line for farmers, those seeking help cannot get through. The line is busy.
Small farmers and ranchers are struggling to survive in America. In fact, small farmers and ranchers are a dying breed. And because they are a dying breed, quality and affordable food and fiber for all of us is at risk.
Passage of the 1996 farm bill sounded the death knell for many of our Nation's farmers and ranchers. Farmers and ranchers, able to eke out a living from the land in past years, now find it almost impossible to break even. Most are losing money and fighting to stay in the farming business.
And the crisis line is busy.
We are all aware of the problems tobacco is having, particularly in my State, North Carolina. But, in North Carolina, according to a recent news report, the State top farm commodity, hogs, have experienced a 50 percent drop in prices since 1996. Wheat is down 42 percent. Soybeans are down 36 percent. Corn, 31 percent; peanuts, 28 percent. Turkey and cotton prices are down 23 percent since 1996. In fact, Mr. Speaker, there is no commodity in North Carolina that makes money for farmers.
And the crisis line is busy.
In 1862, the year that the Department of Agriculture was created, 90 percent of the population farmed for a living. Today, American producers represent less than 3 percent of the population. By 1992, there were only 1.1 million farms left in the United States, a 45 percent decline from 1959. North Carolina only had 39,000 farms left in 1992, a 23 percent decline. In 1920, there were over 6 million farms in the United States, and close to a sixth, 926,000, were operated by African Americans. In 1992, the landscape was very, very different. Only 1 percent of the farms in the United States were operated by African Americans, 1 percent, 18,816, a paltry sum when African Americans comprise more than 13 percent of the population.
In my home State of North Carolina, there has been a 64 percent decline in minority farmers just over the last 15 years, from 6,996 farms in 1978 to 2,498 farms in 1992. All farmers are suffering under this severe economic downturn.
Very recently while in my district I spoke with a farmer who was working off the farm, not to earn extra money but to earn enough money to save his family farm. He makes no money from his farm for himself. He loses money from his farm. Taking a job off the farm was the only thing he could do, he said, to save his farm and pass it on to his children. He makes no money from his farm, other than to save his farm. This man is 70 years of age.
And the crisis line us busy.
Farmers and farm families deserve a chance, a chance for the dwindling number of farmers and ranchers who feed us, provide us clothes and fiber. We should also make sure they have an opportunity to make a living.
Before the Freedom to Farm bill of 1996, the farm price safety net was a shield against the uncertainty and the fluctuation of commodity prices. When the farm bill was passed, we referred to it as Freedom to Fail. I am sad to report that our admonitions have been far too accurate. We must now correct that error. We must indeed not only provide emergency funds but policies must be changed so we can meet those vulnerabilities.
If we do nothing about the real problems facing these hardworking citizens, they may not be there for us. That in turn will hurt all of us if there are no farmers to feed us and to clothe us.
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