Amid a long year of negotiations surrounding the Farm Bill, which culminated in two rounds of presidential vetoes and two overrides of those vetoes by Congress, Ed Schafer joined the game as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture in January and is now taking the lead as the USDA puts new regulations and programs into effect, among numerous other duties.

“Secretary Schafer will be a key figure for both farmers and consumers in coming months as USDA implements the new federal Farm Bill,” said Jack King, manager of national affairs for the California Farm Bureau Federation.

“The bill takes on increasing importance for California farmers because of its new provisions affecting fruits, vegetables, nuts, nursery products and other specialty crops,” he said. “Among other things, the bill expands research and marketing programs that promise to make fresh produce more nutritious and more readily available for consumers.”

While Schafer sided with the Bush Administration, arguing that the Farm Bill was too expensive and too generous with subsidies to commodity crop growers, manyproduce growers were pleased with the bill’s support for produceindustry programs, and with the way it streamlined country-of-origin labeling.

The former North Dakota governor has since been quick to get things started, announcing the first action for the new 2008 Farm Bill just three weeks after Congress overturned President Bush’s veto.

“We know we can rely on America’s farmers and ranchers to grow our food, and they can rely on USDA to have the new Farm Bill ready,” said Schafer in a release, in which he also announced marketing assistance loan and loan deficiency payment provisions.

“The Department of Agriculture is putting into action the thousands of pages of new Farm Bill law for crop production, research, marketing, nutrition, conservation, food aid and rural development. Expect more follow-on Farm Bill results from USDA.”

In addition to the Farm Bill, Schafer is also focusing on food safety efforts, and reopening export markets for U.S. beef.

“Secretary Schafer and USDA will play an enhanced part in assuring food safety, in cooperation with the Food and Drug Administration and other agencies,” said King.

“The farmers and ranchers we represent are committed to working with USDA, FDA and other agencies to make sure the food we sell is safe, every bite, every time.”

Another priority for Schafer is to provide rural areas with adequate technologies and broadband access, in order to provide farmers the tools they need to compete in the global economy.

“If we go back 100 years, to the way life was lived on farms around this country, and compare it to the way it is today, it is unimaginable,” Schafer said at the Agricultural Outlook Forum 2008 in February.

“Today, you have to know something about distribution and accounting; you have to be adept at transportation and computers; and you have to have an education and skills to deal with the complexities of today’s marketplace.”

— AMY SUNG

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