The retirement of Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy from the U.S. Senate at the end of this year, after serving over forty years, brings forth so much history. It also highlights the importance of a member of our Congressional delegation’s service as a member of an Agricultural Committee of the U.S. Congress.
According to historical documents, these Committees, both the House and the Senate, are among the oldest, the House Committee established in 1820, and the Senate in 1825. These committees were established at the time when agriculture was considered to be “one of the three great branches of domestic industry.” In the 1800’s, 90 percent of the population lived on farms compared to today where it is about one percent. Some of the key pieces of federal legislation that changed the United States came about following this period to include, in 1862, the Land Grant College Act championed by our own late U.S. Senator Justin Morrill.
Vermonter’s have always had an active involvement in helping shape federal policies. For example, William Jarvis, former U.S. Consul to Portugal and Spain under President Jefferson, later became a resident of Wethersfield, Vermont. He had imported Merino Sheep from Spain and was the person behind the Sheep Craze. He advocated to our Congressional delegation and other federal leaders the need to support tariffs on imported wool in the early 1800’s so that our sheep industry could survive against price competition from imports. Later Vermont got behind and supported the Hatch Act in 1887 that created the federal agricultural experiment stations at the Land Grant Colleges. Congressman Wallace Grout (1885-1901) led the fight against margarine due to its impact on Vermont’s dairy sector. Governor Aiken opposed the New Deal program to take over “Submarginal Lands” (1934-36) and the conversion of these lands to public domain but supported, with other Governors in the Northeast, federal dairy price regulation coming out of the Agricultural Adjustment Acts of the 1930’s. He advocated for cooperatives, food stamps, rural electric, surplus food distribution, and crop insurance, food for peace and other policies. It is said that in his thirty-four years in the Senate (1941-1975) he had his imprint on every major piece of legislation considered by the Committee during that time.
The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, following the Depression, is considered the United State’s first Farm Bill. In 1938 Congress began passing omnibus Farm Bills every four to five year. There is a very long list of federal legislation that has been enacted over the years by these two committees that affect in some way every single person as well as global citizens. Some of the early legislation have included: the Land Grant College Act and Homestead Acts of 1862, the establishment of USDA in 1862, The Food and Drug Act of 1906/07,the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 that created the county, state, and federal Extension Service, the Federal Loan Act of 1916 and Agricultural Credit Act of 1923, the Capper-Volstead Act of 1922 that is considered the “Magna Carta” of agricultural cooperatives, the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act 0f 1936, and after the “Dust Bowl” created the Soil Conservation Service now NRCS and led to State Conservation Districts, the Rural Electric Act of 1946, Food Stamp Act of 1946, and Child Nutrition Act of 1966.
Farm Bills have changed over time and are a comprehensive package of agriculture, conservation, rural development, research, extension, education, food assistance, energy, climate, and other issues that impact every aspect of rural America today. The last Farm Bill of 2018 had twelve separate titles. Nutrition programs now account for about three-fourths of projected outlays. Senator Leahy has been a champion and steward of many important policies such as nutrition, conservation, rural credit, rural development, dairy policies, organic agriculture and others important to Vermont and the Nation since joining the Committee in 1975. He is retiring as its most senior member, having served as Chairman of that Committee from 1987 to 1995. His policy leadership has been valued in Vermont and the Nation and will be missed.
Vermont is still a rural state. Our economy continues to depend on agriculture and the working landscape in both tourism and farm livelihoods. Without representation on these committees, we, as a state, will have no voice in the committee deliberations and during the conference to deal with differences between the House and Senate bills.
______________________________
Roger Allbee of Townshend, Vermont is a former Vt. Secretary of Agriculture. He has served on the staff of the House Committee on Agriculture for the late Congressman Jim Jeffords and writes articles on the History of Vt Agriculture.
