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Congressman Kingston helps Georgia peanut farmers
Introduces bipartisan amendment to continue storage program
Washington, May 9 -
Congressman Jack Kingston (R/Ga) today introduced a measure to aid
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Georgia’s peanut farmers by continuing the storage and
handling fees program through next year. The bipartisan amendment, supported by
Reps. Sanford Bishop (D/Ga) and Allen Boyd (D/Fl), was approved unanimously by
the House Appropriations Committee during discussion on the Agriculture funding
bill.
amendment would simply continue the peanut storage and handling fees program
through 2007 without costing anything in this year’s budget,” Congressman
Kingston said. “Georgia is the largest peanut producing state in the nation.
While it sounds simple, without this amendment, Georgia peanut farmers could lose $42
million over the next two years.”
peanut program authorized in the 2002 Farm Bill allowed farmers to transition
from the old, depression-era quota system to a program similar to those used for
other commodities. In order for the new system to work, farmers have to be able
to store their peanuts in a way that will keep them from perishing so that they
have more options for marketing their crop.
other crops, peanuts can't just be stored on the farm,” Congressman Kingston
explained. “They have to have specialized handling and storage by knowledgeable
warehouse operators to preserve them.”
Farm Bill included storage and handling through this year. Today’s amendment
would extend this until the Farm Bill is reauthorized in 2008. Because payments
would be made after harvest in the 2008 Fiscal year, this amendment does not
have a cost for the 2007 Fiscal year.
amendment has the support of peanut producers, shellers and warehouses from
across the country.