1.1                             A resolution 
  1.2             memorializing the Congress of the United States to 
  1.3             design and implement a 1996 Farm Bill that preserves 
  1.4             the safety net for Minnesota family farmers. 
  1.5      
  1.6      WHEREAS, the economy of Minnesota is vitally dependent on a 
  1.7   healthy agricultural sector for the well-being of both rural 
  1.8   communities and urban centers; and 
  1.9      WHEREAS, family farmers of the Midwest play a vital role in 
  1.10  maintaining an adequate supply of wholesome, reasonably priced 
  1.11  food for the nation; and 
  1.12     WHEREAS, only $16 billion, representing just 26 percent of 
  1.13  the United States Department of Agriculture's annual budget of 
  1.14  $63 billion, currently goes for direct price support programs 
  1.15  benefiting farmers who produce food; and 
  1.16     WHEREAS, current programs are inequitable in that just ten 
  1.17  percent of all farms receive 90 percent of all United States 
  1.18  Department of Agriculture crop benefits; and 
  1.19     WHEREAS, dairy prices as established under the current 
  1.20  federal milk marketing order system are profoundly unfair and 
  1.21  discriminatory against Upper Midwest dairy producers; NOW, 
  1.22  THEREFORE, 
  1.23     BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota 
  1.24  that in fairness and equity to the agricultural sector of the 
  1.25  nation's economy, spending reductions at the federal level must 
  2.1   be structured so as not to impose a disproportionate share of 
  2.2   the financial burden on family farmers. 
  2.3      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that significant savings can and 
  2.4   should occur by reducing USDA administration and the number of 
  2.5   USDA offices and personnel around the country. 
  2.6      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that programs that become part of 
  2.7   the 1996 Farm Bill be restructured in such a way as to provide 
  2.8   maximum benefits to small and medium-sized family farms rather 
  2.9   than large corporate farms. 
  2.10     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that United States Department of 
  2.11  Agriculture benefits be limited to a maximum of $100,000 per 
  2.12  farm. 
  2.13     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that price supports on corn, wheat, 
  2.14  and sugar should remain a part of the 1996 Farm Bill in order to 
  2.15  maintain an adequate supply of food commodities for the American 
  2.16  people at a fair price, produced by small and medium-sized 
  2.17  family farmers. 
  2.18     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Congress structure the dairy 
  2.19  portion of the 1996 Farm Bill to provide solid support for the 
  2.20  dairy industry including reform of the Federal Milk Marketing 
  2.21  Orders which discriminate against Midwestern dairy farmers and 
  2.22  encourage production in the Southern part of the United States. 
  2.23     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 1996 Farm Bill should 
  2.24  include funding for rural development and food and nutrition 
  2.25  programs, including the school lunch program. 
  2.26     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Congress and the President 
  2.27  oppose passage into law during this session of Congress of a 
  2.28  farm bill that removes commodity price support programs, the 
  2.29  very programs that have served as the safety net for farmers 
  2.30  since the 1930's. 
  2.31     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the 
  2.32  State of Minnesota is directed to prepare copies of this 
  2.33  memorial and transmit them to the President and Secretary of the 
  2.34  United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States 
  2.35  House of Representatives, the chair of the Senate Committee on 
  2.36  Agriculture, the chair of the House Committee on Agriculture, 
  3.1   and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress.