Finding Solutions for American Farmers
By: U.S. Congressman Lincoln Davis
The week of March 14-20 is National Agricultural Week

Farming has long been a way of life and a source of income for many Americans, especially Tennesseans. To understand the cultural and economic significance of agriculture one only has to point to the fact that the State of Tennessee, in its infancy, and eight years before the federal government, created the Bureau of Agriculture. Today the Bureau is called the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.

As a way of honoring agriculture the city of Columbia, one of the largest cities in my district, has an annual Mule Day parade to honor the significance of the mule. In the early days of Tennessee agriculture mules contributed greatly to the importance to the work that needed to be done on farms.

Tennessee's agriculture accounts for a little over fourteen percent of our state's economy, employs two hundred eighteen thousand, encompasses forty two percent of Tennessee's land area, and nationally is among the leading producers of tobacco, cattle, and cotton. In the Fourth Congressional District Lincoln, Giles, Maury, Lawrence, and Franklin counties are leading producers of livestock and crops.

Agriculture continues to change and find innovative ways in which to produce the food, fabrics, and resources we depend on at home and throughout the world for our daily lives. Ingenuity and efficient methods of farming have helped keep the costs of agriculture products relatively low in comparison with other countries. Consumers in Japan, India, and the United Kingdom for example spend as much as fifteen to fifty percent of their income on food. Americans, on the other hand, spend nearly nine percent of their income on food.

As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, I am allowed to be on the forefront of legislation that affects every American and more specifically, our farmers. Currently, there are two major pieces of legislation being debated in Congress: the tobacco buyout and the national animal identification program, both of which I support.

As a tobacco farmer myself, I understand the growing complexities that farmers must deal with in finding ways to keep their farms working. Since the influx of cheaper out-of-country tobacco the demand for American tobacco has decreased dramatically. As a result of regulations on the amount our farmers are allowed to produce (quotas), our farmers are not able to adequately compete with these much cheaper tobacco products from other countries. As part of the buyout I support eliminating quotas and the price support loan program that has been handicapping our country's tobacco farmers.

With the recent discovery of mad cow disease among a few cattle in Washington State, USDA Secretary Ann Veneman has called for an animal identification program. The Bush administration believes that a national ID program needs to be implemented for food safety, security, and to maintain positive relationships with our trading partners. Tennessee has over two million cattle and calves and the Fourth District has over six hundred and seventy thousand cattle and calves. What would happen if our cattle became infected with the terrible mad cow disease? How would we track, trace and quarantine the infected animals? I along with a few other colleagues have been proactive in trying to bring a program that is proven to work and will be easy and cost effective for our farmers to implement.

The National Farm Animal Identification and Records (FAIR) Act as it is called has been well received by farm organizations. The U.S. is one of the last industrialized countries to develop a national tracking system. It's time for us to acknowledge this problem for the sake of our consumers and producers who want this program in place.

Agriculture is a valued part of America's past, present, and future. I am dedicated to ensuring Tennessee's place as one of the most productive and important agricultural states in the United States.

Congressman Davis, a farmer and small businessman, represents Tennessee's 4th District in the House of Representatives. He may be reached by calling (202) 225-6831.