Fayetteville Observer - July 1, 2010
Three congressmen from the Cape Fear region brought the U.S. House Agriculture Committee to Fayetteville on Monday to hear from constituents with wish lists for a 2012 farm bill.

The wishes ranged from increasing broadband access in rural communities to heading off a peanut ban on airline flights.

More than 100 people - mostly farmers and ranchers - attended the hearing at the Crown Expo Center.

Rep. Mike McIntyre, who wielded the chairman's gavel, reminded those listening to the hearing on the Internet that taxpayer support of agriculture is modest compared with what farmers do for the country.

"When you hear people debate about the federal budget and the concerns about our national economy, let's not forget that only one-half of 1 percent - only one-half of 1 percent - of the federal budget is the agriculture budget," said McIntyre, a Lumberton Democrat.

Nevertheless, witnesses had suggestions for increasing federal spending to help farmers and rural areas.

Bladenboro farmer Ronald Allen, chairman of Cape Fear Farm Credit, suggested raising the ceiling on federally guaranteed loans to $3 million for those new to agriculture.

The average age of an American farmer is 57, Allen noted. The current ceiling on loan guarantees is $1.1 million.

"We need to ensure that adequate programs are in place to assist in making it feasible for young, beginning and small producers to enter into production agriculture," Allen said in prepared remarks to the House panel.

Eight witnesses testified for five minutes each. They submitted lengthier written statements for the record.

McIntyre and fellow Democrats Larry Kissell of Biscoe and Bob Etheridge of Lillington were joined at the hearing by Republican Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania.

Fayetteville-based Cape Fear Farm Credit, a lending cooperative for 12 counties in southeastern North Carolina, is a lead lender to the new Clean Burn Fuels LLC ethanol plant in Raeford.

But Laurinburg cotton farmer Allen McLaurin sounded a cautionary note about biofuels, which speakers touted as a technological breakthrough that will lessen American dependence on foreign oil while giving farmers another market for fiber crops.

"While the cotton industry supports a viable biofuels industry, it must be recognized that benefits are not equally shared by all commodity producers," McLaurin said. "Renewable fuels mandates and other policies regarding biofuels have changed the competitive balance between commodities, placing severe pressure on cotton infrastructure in certain parts of the Cotton Belt. Mandated demand can result in excessive and harmful market distortions."

Clarkton peanut grower Dan Ward criticized a U.S. Department of Transportation proposal to ban bags of peanuts on domestic flights, an accommodation to passengers who are allergic.

"We do not wish to minimize the seriousness of food allergies," Ward said in his remarks. "Congress asked 10 years ago that DOT not implement a peanut ban unless a scientific peer-reviewed study indicated a need for the ban. No such study has been done."

Randall Jones, chief executive of Lumber River Electric Membership Corp., spoke up for federal subsidies to bring broadband to rural residents, including the 46,000 customers of his electric cooperative in Cumberland, Hoke, Robeson and Scotland counties.

"We are certain that everyone agrees that the need for expanding broadband networks into rural America is the only way we can ensure the future economic health of these regions," Jones told the committee. "This will not happen without the commitment of our federal government."