U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield (KY-01) helped secure passage of the Farm Bill today, a critical piece of legislation which gives Kentucky farmers the support they need to provide the most inexpensive, safest, and plentiful food supply in the world.

"I have met with numerous Kentucky farmers over the past several months and understand just how important the Farm Bill is to these producers, both as a safety net in hard times and as a framework for federal support of our farming industry," Whitfield said. "This legislation will give Kentucky farmers the tools that they need to keep producing affordable products for American consumers, and for people all over the world, while bringing more money into Kentucky's economy."

Whitfield voted for H.R. 2419, the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007, also known as the Farm Bill. This legislation authorizes $714 billion over the next ten years to fund a wide range of U.S. agriculture and food assistance programs. The bill extends price safety nets for farmers, reauthorizes food security programs and agricultural conservation programs, expands nutrition and food aid, and provides for commodity reforms, enhanced biofuel programs, and support for rural development.

Importantly, the Farm Bill passed today will prohibit the closure or relocation of Farm Service Agency offices for the next two years, except for offices located 20 miles or less from another office. Whitfield has been instrumental in thwarting efforts to consolidate FSA offices in Kentucky in the past, recognizing these offices as vital resources for countless farmers in the First District.

In addition to extending and modernizing federal farm programs, the Farm Bill reforms crop insurance, establishes standing disaster assistance programs for crops stricken by catastrophic natural disasters, caps benefits previously given to wealthy farmers and eliminates subsidies to non-farmers.

The Farm Bill also contains a number of provisions which promote renewable energy. The legislation directs $1 billion to fund programs that will help the renewable energy industry invest in new technologies.

The House of Representatives passed a Farm Bill last July and the Senate in December. Whitfield broke ranks with the Republican Party to support the Farm Bill when it passed in the House last summer. While the House and Senate both passed new versions of the Farm Bill, the two chambers, and the Bush Administration, had been deadlocked over funding. Fortunately, the House and Senate were able to reconcile their differences today and present the American people with a strong Farm Bill.