The farm bill approved by the Senate Ag Committee is headed for the Senate floor next month. In preparation – Politico is reporting that Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow is reaching out to southern lawmakers in an effort to bridge the gap that split her committee last month and put her at odds with allies in the House. According to Politico – backroom talks are focused on putting a modest counter cyclical program together as a safety net for rice and peanuts.

One possibility would trigger assistance if prices fell below $10.50 per hundredweight for rice and 495-dollars per ton of peanuts. Those figures are well below what growers have been asking for – instead matching the indexes set in current law. Lawmakers in the House that are sympathetic with the South – Politico reports – are saying this potential deal must be considered as a bridge to a future House-Senate conference on the farm bill.

The 2012 World Pork Expo kicks off at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines in just over two weeks. Nearly 20-thousand people are expected to see the pork industry’s newest technologies, participate in business seminars and show breeding stock at the event June 6th through the 8th. National Pork Producers Council President R.C. Hunt says there is so much to see – that everyone will thoroughly enjoy every minute of the Expo as they mingle with top pork producers from around the globe.

In addition to the more than 450 commercial exhibits featured at the Expo – there will be pre-expo tours, musical entertainment and a variety of educational seminars. Eight seminars will feature the latest in nutrition, herd health, manure management and price risk on Wednesday and Thursday. Free business-seminar luncheons at noon on both days will feature weather and economic outlooks. Hunt encourages attendees to carve out more than one day to explore all the Expo has to offer.

James Giddens – the trustee overseeing the return of customer money following the collapse of MF Global – has received more than 168-million dollars from JPMorgan Chase. Technically speaking – the money is not part of the 1.6-billion in customer cash that disappeared from the commodities brokerage firm. Even so – Giddens plans to use it to repay the farmers, traders and hedge funds that have been waiting more than six months to get their money back.

According to the New York Times – MF Global customers have collected about 70-percent of the money they held with the brokerage firm. Those that traded on overseas exchanges have received even less. The customers – in an effort to get regulators and federal authorities to act – have written the Justice Department or rallied support from Republican lawmakers who are calling for an independent inquiry into the firm’s collapse.

The House Ag Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry wrapped up the DC farm bill hearing series Friday. The hearing focused on the Energy Title – first included in the 2002 Farm Bill and the Forestry Title – which has been part of farm bills since 1990. The energy programs in Title IX were designed to promote a transition from corn-based ethanol to other advanced biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol. The most prominent programs in the energy title are the Biomass Crop Assistance Program and the Rural Energy for America program – but there is no budget baseline for these programs beyond the conclusion of the existing Farm Bill. Chairman Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania says Friday’s panels provided subcommittee members with critical details on how current farm policy is performing, what areas need improvement and what recommendations will serve to create a stronger and more efficient law. He says the aim is to craft a measure that helps the nation meet rising energy demand.

A coalition of organizations supported the testimony presented at the House Ag Energy Subcommittee farm bill hearing by Agriculture Energy Coalition Co-Director Ryan Stroschein Friday. His testimony urged Congress to ensure robust funding for the 2012 Farm Bill Energy Title. Stroschein noted that rural America has been at the epicenter of the nation’s emerging renewable energy and bioproducts industries – and farmers, ranchers, small businesses and rural economies have started realizing the benefits.

National Farmers Union was among the groups supporting Stroschein’s testimony. NFU President Roger Johnson says the energy title is critical not only because of its investment in rural America – but also because it’s leading to the commercialization of second generation renewable fuels. By producing renewable fuels here in the U.S. – Johnson says we can become more energy secure while preserving our natural resources.

According to USDA – the Rural Energy for America – or REAP – program is estimated to have saved or created 15-thousand jobs between 2009 and 2011.

According to Texas Representative Mike Conaway – Chairman of the House Ag Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management – the Senate Ag Committee’s version of the farm bill just won’t cut it for folks across all regions. He says it isn’t equitable or fair to crops and commodities across the country – criteria set by House Ag Chair Frank Lucas. According to Conaway – the Senate bill actually creates a new program that is so lopsided it locks in profits for some while denying any safety net at all to others. Conaway also questions whether the Senate bill provides the protection needed if prices collapse.

Conaway led a hearing focused on commodity programs and crop insurance Wednesday and Thurdsay. The two-day hearing was part of the series of House Ag hearings on agricultural policy in advance of the writing of the farm bill. Four panels of witnesses – including economists and leaders from various commodity and ag groups – described how programs are working under current law and how reforms can be made. They stressed the need for a fair and effective safety net and a strong crop insurance program.

The House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management met Thursday to review commodity programs for the next farm bill. National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson testified before the subcommittee and urged its members to include provisions to deal with a long-term collapse in commodity prices. Johnson says the Senate Ag Committee’s farm bill contained a number of positive aspects – but did not include a way to deal with a long-term commodity price collapse. He says the 2012 Farm Bill needs a program that helps to ensure prices don’t fall to a price where family farmers can no longer make a living – such as the Market-Driven Inventory System. Johnson also emphasized the need to look at long-term cost savings of farm bill programs rather than just short-term costs. He says lawmakers must be penny-wise – but not pound-foolish. While MDIS will have a cost – he notes a University of Tennessee study demonstrates it will save money in the long run.

Johnson says permanent disaster programs save money as well. As an example – he explained that the U.S. spent 30-billion dollars between 1996 and 2002 in emergency and ad hoc disaster programs to help farmers and ranchers when prices collapsed and the farm bill had no safety net for them. He says the cost to extend the SURE program and similar disaster assistance programs for five years – which could have replaced ad hoc disaster programs – is 8.9-billion dollars.