ND Department of Agriculture Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 21, 2008

NASDA, FARM GROUPS, OTHERS UNITE BEHIND FARM BILL

BISMARCK – The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) has joined with more than 1,000 farm groups, conservation organizations and nutrition interests, urging Congress to override the presidential veto of the 2008 Farm Bill.

“I sincerely hope the Congress votes in favor of the wide range of support across the nation for the Farm Bill,” said North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson, president of NASDA, who signed a letter to members of Congress, asking them to override the veto.

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 passed the House of Representatives by 318-106 and the U.S. Senate by 81-15.

"The presidential veto does not serve the majority of the country's constituent interests and the Congress that represents them,” Johnson said. “The country would be far better served if the administration would focus on how to best put the provisions of the new Farm Bill into effect.”

Johnson said the compromise legislation is not perfect.

"Some of the criticism of the bill is perfectly valid,” he said. “Nobody and no organization got exactly what they wanted, but it is a compromise that we all can live with, and it is a better Farm Bill than we have had before.”

Johnson said the legislation makes significant policy reforms, strengthens the farm safety net, boosts funding to feed the poor and promotes conservation.

The permanent disaster, cellulosic ethanol and fruit and vegetable provisions are just a few examples of the major improvements in this farm policy legislation,” he said.

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MEDIA: For more information, please call Ted Quanrud at (701) 328-2233 or tquanrud@nd.gov or Patrice Lahlum at (701) 239-7210 or plahlum@nd.gov.