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Goodlatte and Peterson Announce First Farm Bill Hearings

House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Ranking Minority Member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., announced the first two full-Committee field hearings to begin reviewing the 2002 Farm Bill will be held in North Carolina and Alabama during the beginning of February.

The field hearings are part of a series of hearings the Committee will convene in the coming year. The first hearing will be held on Monday, February 6, 2006 in Fayetteville, N.C., followed by a hearing on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 in Auburn, Ala. Times, locations and witness lists will be announced in the coming weeks.

Goodlatte and Peterson intend to hear from all those involved in agricultural policy including farmers, ranchers, agribusiness and government officials. The hearings will give producers the opportunity to provide the Committee with feedback about what aspects of the 2002 Farm Bill are working well and what aspects could be modified. The 2002 Farm Bill included ten separate titles: commodity programs, conservation, trade, nutrition programs, credit, rural development, research, forestry, energy and a miscellaneous category that included marketing issues, biotechnology, etc. The Committee intends to review all aspects of the farm bill to determine the status of U.S. agricultural policy in anticipation of writing the next farm bill later next year.

"Because the scope of our agricultural policy is so diverse and extensive, it is important to get an early start on reviewing the farm bill as we prepare to write the next farm bill," Goodlatte says. "Since the last farm bill was written, U.S. farmers and ranchers have experienced significant challenges and opportunities in the world market and it is important that our domestic policies reflect and adapt to this changing environment.

"Our producers are working on the frontlines and their daily lives are directly affected by agricultural policy; therefore, the feedback we gather from our producers will give us a good sense of how these policies work in practice," Goodlatte says.