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Farm Equipment Makers Eye Farm Bill Impacts
By Mr Ethanol | May 5, 2007
Capital Press:
The agricultural equipment industry has a substantial impact on the overall U.S. economy - a fact Congress should not forget when deliberating on 2007 Farm Bill policy, industry representatives said.
Overall, the industry annually generates $82 billion in total economic activity and accounts for almost 250,000 jobs nationwide, according to a study released in early March by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association and the North American Equipment Dealers Association.
The idea behind the “U.S. Agricultural Equipment: Powering Jobs and Dollars” study was to show that agriculture drives economic growth in more ways than one.
Equipment sales are closely linked to farm income, so government support of agriculture is vital to the industry’s health, said Bob Schnell, executive vice president of the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association.
“Rural development cannot just be left on the wayside,” he said.
Although the association isn’t making any direct recommendations regarding subsidies for commodity crops, Schnell said his group is generally in favor of channeling research and revenues to boost the agricultural economy.
Renewable fuel, for example, is one way to keep farming viable, he said.
Aside from boosting equipment sales, the industry has another vested interest in the vitality of rural America, he said. “We rely on rural areas for our labor.”
With the federal deficit looming over lawmakers’ decisions this year, it was important to quantify the industry’s effect on employment and business activity, said Charlie O’Brien, vice president of agricultural services for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.
“All the budgets are under scrutiny,” he said.
Topics: BizOp, Health, Industry, Legislative, Market, News |
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