By DAVE BLOWER JR.
Farm World Editor

ORESTES, Ind. — In an interesting turn of events, U.S. Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) wrote a bill that he later ended up voting against – and, yet, he still received accolades from the proposal’s benefactors.

Pence was praised for his work in crafting a proposal in the recent farm bill that was adopted by Congress. The Hoosier lawmaker, though, said he was simply listening to his constituents.

“All of the best ideas in America come from America and not Washington, D.C.,” Pence stated. “Washington, D.C. is the world capital of unintended consequence.”

Farm Flex limits growers to 10,000 acres statewide to grow tomatoes for processing with a contract, as well as to plant them in a crop rotation.

Pence voted against the total $290 billion farm bill last month, despite the Farm Flex addendum he worked on with Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) Pence and Lugar offered Farm Flex in 2004 and 2006 with little success.

Because Pence lost his seat on the House Ag Committee when the Democratic Party took control in 2006, freshmen legislators Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) and Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.) picked up Farm Flex for Red Gold and similar companies.

Pence said, though he continues to support Farm Flex, the size of the farm bill was too big to secure his vote.

Red Gold officials believe their future – and the future of most canned-food processors Midwest vegetable growers – are more secure with Farm Flex.

“Farm Flex is contained in the new farm bill and will allow Indiana tomato growers to plant tomatoes on acres that are normally enrolled in the government commodity program but were prohibited from doing so by the 2002 Farm Bill.” said Steve Austin, government affairs at Red Gold, Inc. “We are grateful for the work Congressman Pence did on the House side and that of Sen. Richard Lugar on the Senate side. They really stood up for Hoosier family farms who grow tomatoes and other specialty crops that add value to the Indiana economy.”

Prior to the 2002 Farm Bill, fruit and vegetable growers had adequate flexibility to grow their crop.

“When soybeans became a program crop in the 2002 Farm Bill, tomato growers were denied the ability to grow their tomato crops on the acreage previously allowed,” said Steve Smith, Red Gold director of agriculture. “Indiana and the Midwestern fruit and vegetable industry were significantly restricted on where farmers could plant their tomatoes.”

The fruit-and-vegetable prohibition included not only tomatoes but any specialty crop, and it covered the entire country. However, the problems were not significant in southern parts of the country that have the ability to “double crop,” or in Texas or the West Coast where soybeans aren’t prominently grown.

“This bill was unfair, unjust and just plain mean-spirited,” said Brian Reichart, CEO of Red Gold, Inc. “(The bill) was backed by a strong opposition that was well-financed. We soon realized we would have a major battle on our hands.”

In the Midwest approximately 98.5 percent of the cropland became unavailable for production of tomatoes or other fruits and vegetables.

“The Midwest just happens to be where the traditional canning industry is located,” Austin explained. “Over a short time, the canning industry in America would eventually have gone out of business and foreign, imported canned goods would have taken its place, putting consumers at the risk of relying on foreign suppliers and the worry of food safety problems coming from production areas not overseen by more stringent U.S. food production rules.”

To fix the problem caused by the planting prohibition, Lugar and Pence introduced a bill called the Farming Flexibility Act. “They really went to the mat for Hoosier farmers,” Austin said.

Farm Flex will make land available for farmers to plant fruits and vegetables for processing crops that are under a contract with a processor. Fruit and vegetable growers receive no farm payments - unlike growers of traditional commodity crops such as corn, soybeans and wheat. Landowners will be allowed to keep their farms enrolled in the government program to produce in subsequent years without any penalty.

“Red Gold is a family owned food processing business,” Reichart said. “I am a third generation food processor – the fourth generation – my two sons and nephew have joined Red Gold.

“We have 50 family farms that raise tomatoes for Red Gold; they too have sons and daughters that have hopes of one day continuing their family farming operation. These hopes and dreams were all in jeopardy – to just grow quality food products for this great nation and follow in their parents’ footsteps.”