The executive board of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives has approved a set of priorities for farmer co-ops in the next farm bill. NCFC President and CEO Chuck Conner recognizes that – when it comes to writing the next farm bill, many things are still very much up in the air from the impact that the Super Committee will have on the process, to the budgetary resources that will be available to the agriculture committees, to the timing of the bill itself.

NCFC identified four key themes to guide the organization’s policy throughout the process. They are: defend the agriculture budget baseline; promote the value of farmer cooperatives; ensure an adequate farm safety net; and promote market access and U.S. agricultural exports.

When it comes to ensuring an adequate farm safety net, NCFC says farmers, ranchers and growers must continue to have access to as many tools as possible to help them mitigate the risk inherent in production agriculture. Specific to dairy, NCFC strongly supports H.R. 3062, the Dairy Security Act of 2011 that draws on the Foundation for the Future proposal developed by the National Milk Producers Federation and their members.