Since farm government program payments are not indexed, traditional farm policy’s support erodes with inflation. To further accelerate reduction in support will punish those who presently are, or will be casualties of the consolidation and will penalize the legitimate risk takers. There is very little evidence that the risk exposure rice and cotton producers are facing is understood. Maybe analysts do not appreciate the farm business setting but it is my belief that the Representatives and Senators that represent the rice and cotton producing states do have an understanding.

I am bullish on Arkansas and the Mississippi River Valley Delta agriculture. Our region will only become increasingly important for its ability to produce food, feed, fiber, energy, and fish and support animal confinement production. Farm policy will have much to do with what this region produces in the immediate future. I once told a producer, have you ever considered the advantages of this region and that you may be better off without farm government support? He looked me square in the eye and said what you say may be true, but rapid transition without export market access and reasonably stable prices will bankrupt me and many others.

A significant amount of acreage on rice and cotton farms in Arkansas, the Mississippi River Valley Delta, the rice or cotton producing states, or the south will remain in some type of production, so the question worth considering is as follows: Is the possible rapid expansion of the U.S. rice and cotton farms into grain farms and confinement operations and/or fruit, nut, and vegetable operations good farm policy?

Another question worth considering, Is an unstable though dynamic global economic platform and the lack of a global free trade agreement moving U.S. row crop agriculture to a part time business?

Finally, producer cash flow concerns due to thin profit margins and/or inadequate alternative income limits many of our producers’ ability to manage production and price volatility. This is an obvious real and pressing farm bill issue. The policy mechanisms to address the issue with a farm bill disaster title appear challenging with the potential of being extremely costly. Since this is one area that all states seem to recognize as a problem area, then pay-as-you-go should be exempted to allow for some pilot testing of one or more reasonable disaster alternatives with the intent of a more advanced approach in the next farm bill.

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