Farming - Frequently Asked Questions

What would you do to make agriculture more profitable at the producer level, so it remains the number one industry in Pennsylvania? Most of the problems facing Pennsylvania's farmers are caused by unfair policies at the federal level. Therefore, as Governor, I would act as an advocate for Pennsylvania's family farmers, even if it means working with federal authorities to correct these inequities.
I would support the development of an equitable pricing mechanism that includes the farmer's cost of production. The farmer's cost of production is the lifeblood of Pennsylvania's rural businesses. Failure to consider the farmer's cost of production will condemn Pennsylvania's rural communities to a continuation of the current social and economic deterioration so evident across the Commonwealth's farming regions. I would support investigation of problems farmers have been having with concentration in the Ag sector. I would support the promotion of the Commonwealth's own farm products by displaying "Pennsylvania Proud" in our grocery stores.
What is your policy on large agricultural animal operations in Pennsylvania? The CAFO is the model of production developed by corporate agribusiness interests to provide volume in order to compete in monopolistic overseas markets. The CAFO is one of the reasons family farmers have been increasingly unable to compete in the marketplace and have, therefore, lost their independence.
For many citizens in the Commonwealth, the CAFO has caused environmental and property rights problems. These are very real concerns that must be addressed. Therefore, I support a moratorium on the factory farms invading Pennsylvania farmland until the critical issues relating to the environment and to the rural social and economic fabric can be examined. (For an in-depth analysis of the effects of CAFO's, see To Market, To Market
(The Luksik/Clymer team has produced an in-depth video report on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO). To obtain your copy, contact the campaign at 1-800-801-2027.)
Here again, a "cost of production" pricing system is necessary if family farmers are to be able to maintain the physical plants on their farms at the level required for environmental safety.
How do you stand on "fast track"? Do you still support GATT, in light of the fact that since it came into effect, farm income has continued to decline 20 to 30 per cent? I NEVER supported GATT. I still don't.
I strongly oppose "fast track" trade policies. The "fast track" trade policies have given us NAFTA and GATT which have totally destroyed our American agricultural and manufacturing infrastructures. This is clearly a situation that severely threatens our sovereignty and our national security.
The 1996 Farm Bill has proven to be a failure, with statistics showing 500 farmers going out of business weekly across the nation. Would you be in favor of re-assessing and re-negotiating this Bill?
I absolutely would be in favor of re-assessing and re-negotiating the 1996 Farm Bill. Any legislation that has had as many negative economic and social consequences as the recent farm bills have had should have been re-visited long before now. As Governor, I would actively work to advocate such action by the federal government.
The Progressive Agriculture Organization has worked diligently on the Northeast Dairy Compact for the past 6 years. As Governor, will you urge the Pennsylvania legislators to pass the needed legislation in Pennsylvania, and will you sign the proposed legislation after it has passed?
Yes, I would support and sign the Northeast Dairy Compact legislation. The Northeast Dairy Compact would offer Pennsylvania dairy farmers another opportunity to move closer to their true cost of production. However, since Pennsylvania must wait until New York approves the compact, I would encourage our dairy farmers to continue to examine other pricing mechanisms. I would also use the authority of the Governor's office to deal with my counterpart in New York to encourage them to sign the Compact quickly.
As Governor, would you support the efforts of dairy farmers to obtain a new pricing formula which would enable him to receive an adequate price for his product without ripping off the consumer?
I would examine any pricing plan that would offer a just milk price to our dairy farmers. I would further encourage dairy farmers to work together to price their own products as all other businesses are currently able to do.
Please define the terms "family farm" and "factory farm". Where do you draw the line, and do you place one above the other in importance? What do you plan to do about this issue? There is definitely a difference between a "family farm" and a "factory farm". A "factory farm" is a unit of agricultural production, related in some way to off-farm interests that are removed from the literal "work" of the farm, and which seeks through various "economies of scale" to capture the commodity in a scheme of vertical integration.
In my judgement, the term "family farm" is defined by our traditional understanding of the relationship existing between the farmer, his family, his rural community, and the environment.
By far, the protection of the family farm is a top priority, not just for agriculture in Pennsylvania, but for American sovereignty. The economic, social, and environmental health of the rural community depends upon the financial solvency and social stability of the family farm. The dramatic and shocking decay of our rural communities is caused by the loss of the farmer's ability to cover his cost of production.
As Governor, what pricing mechanism would you implement for milk and milk marketing orders?
I would prefer an initiative by the farmers themselves to price their own milk. However, here again, I would study any recommendation for pricing and order reform that has as a chief priority the farmers' basic need for a just price for their product. If our rural communities are to survive, these plans must consider the cost of production.
As Governor, what will you do to improve the unreasonably low prices paid to farmers engaged in agricultural areas other than dairy, i.e., pork, beef, grain, etc.? Once again, we see farmers in all commodities suffering from destructive, low farm prices because they have been forced into a global pricing system by federal agricultural policies based on "free trade". These "free trade" policies have never been fair. As Governor of Pennsylvania, I will become an advocate on behalf of Pennsylvania's family farmers for the development of federal agricultural policies that put America's farmers first. These new agricultural policies must acknowledge the reality of American costs of production.
The current situation of low commodity prices is worsened by the problems farmers are encountering with monopolies and concentration. A line of separation between farmers and processors in the marketplace is a necessity in order to avoid conflicts of interest. I would support any necessary investigations to correct these abuses.
To assist the farm economy, how would you ensure an increase in exportation of Pennsylvania farm products? In reality, most Pennsylvania family farmers continue to struggle to meet basic overhead expenses. Overseas export of our farm products has done nothing to prevent our rural crisis and has, instead, precipitated it because our current export policies are based on the federal government's commitment to "free trade". Until domestic profitability is returned to our family farms, overseas trade will not assist them in their struggle to remain on the land. Selling below production costs is the problem - and changing the marketplace doesn't even address the problem, much less solve it.
The destabilizing of foreign, overseas farm communities by "dumping" our artificially devalued farm commodities is a matter of concern from a moral point of view.
While I will wholeheartedly promote Pennsylvania farm products and encourage the marketing of "Pennsylvania Proud" in all our grocery stores, my primary focus will remain addressing the basic unfairness involved in forcing our farmers to sell below production cost.
Pennsylvania farmers are known for the high quality of their farm products, and I am confident that in a fair pricing system, our farmers would be able to secure competitive markets because of this fine reputation.