USDA Analysis Confirms Cap-and-Trade Damages Agriculture

The USDA has provided a summary of its latest analysis of the cap-and-trade bill, and we now have a clearer picture of just how much damage the bill would do to agriculture. Several of my Senate colleagues and I requested the analysis in July, and it's taken USDA nearly six months to provide it. While the Senate has yet to be provided a copy of the actual analysis, the USDA testimony confirms we are right to be very worried. USDA's claim that the legislation will result in a net gain of $22 billion in income for farmers notes that the increase is only because many producers will be forced out of business by increased input costs and decreased production. This leaves whoever is left standing to benefit from higher prices as the overall food supply goes down significantly. The details of USDA's own testimony paints a far more troubling picture. USDA testified that the costs of fuel, oil and electricity will increase by about 22%. And here's a staggering estimate: the bill drives 59 million acres of cropland and pasture out of production by 2050. With millions of acres coming out of production and energy prices going through the roof, it’s not surprising that USDA also predicts significant declines in farm production. USDA’s testimony shows that corn production will decrease by 22%, soybean production will drop by 29%, beef production will decline by 10% and pork production will sink by 23%. This decline in production will threaten our nation’s food supply, and is estimated to drive up food prices by as much as 5%. Yet the administration supports this bill. How can USDA support a policy that so drastically and negatively impacts agriculture?...read more