Rep. Frank Lucas of Oklahoma, who is expected to become chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, has been a supporter of direct payments, "which are expected to become a major issue as the debate intensifies over the 2012 Farm Bill," Ken Anderson of Brownfield Network reports. "At the same time, there will likely be a lot of pressure on Lucas and other Republicans to follow through on their promises of cutting federal spending. That combination should make for some very interesting debate over farm programs."
Anderson notes that the panel will get many new faces, because of the defeats of Democratic Reps. Jim Marshall of Georgia, Steve Kagen of Wisconsin, Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota, Travis Childers of Mississippi, Deborah Halvorson of Illinois, Kathleen Dahlkemper of Pennsylvania, Bobby Bright of Alabama, John Boccieri of Ohio, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota and Frank Kratovil of Maryland.
Democrats kept control of the Senate, but Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln lost, so "There will be a new chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee," Anderson notes. "Her likely Democratic successor at this point is thought to be Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. Sources close to the panel says Stabenow is well-liked by her colleagues and earned their respect during the last round of farm bill negotiations by bridging the interests of states with commodity crops and those with specialty fruit and vegetables." (Read more)
Analysis from the Environmental Working Group shows 46 seats "that flipped from Democratic to Republican hands represent districts that rank in the top half of those that get federal subsidies," Philip Brasher of the Des Moines Register reports. "Mark Maslyn of the American Farm Bureau Federation worries that the Democrats who will join the House committee to fill empty seats may come from more urban and suburban districts and will be more interested in nutrition and environmental issues than farm programs." (Read more)
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