Springfield - State Senator Dan Rutherford (R-Pontiac) opposes the Governor-s proposed tax on agriculture inputs including fertilizer and farm chemicals. To that end, he is working to protect Illinois agriculture from continued harm caused by Governor Rod Blagojevich-s anti-agriculture administration.
-I oppose the Governor-s proposed tax on farm chemicals, fertilizer and seed,- said Rutherford. -Our family farms are the stronghold of our central Illinois communities and they cannot be expected to fill a budget gap perpetuated by overspending. This kind of budgeting places too great a burden on our farms at a time when they can least afford it.-
Rutherford suggests the Governor look elsewhere to find the $27 million generated by this proposed tax on farms, specifically the $26-million, taxpayer-funded book-a-month club that would provide a book a month to every newborn until the child reaches the age of 5.
-The Governor has plenty of room to cut in this growth budget and he can start by cutting his new, $26-million book-a-month club,- he said. -If the public really wants a program like this, it can wait for a year when Illinois- revenues are flush. If the State has to tax the farmers of Illinois to pay for such a program, we cannot afford it.-
According to Rutherford, this is just one of the many fee increases contained in the Governor-s Fiscal Year 2005 proposed budget, but when you add in the other attacks on agriculture contained in the budget, the impact on our family farms and agri-businesses is enormous.
-Our family farms are the stronghold of our central Illinois communities and they cannot be expected to fill a budget gap perpetuated by excessive spending,- Rutherford said.
Rather than cut spending or limit new programs, Governor Rod Blagojevich is again using fee increases and short-term revenue schemes to provide lawmakers a budget that spends $700 million more than last year. His target to raise the extra cash seems to be agriculture.
Specifically, the Governor is raiding a number of funds - including agriculture funds - to fill the budget gap and pay for his excessive spending. This year he called for fees on ag inputs such as feed, seed and weed killer to help generate revenue for another year of excessive spending. At the same time he eliminated funding for the Illinois Council for Food and Agriculture Research and called for capping or restructuring subsidies to the horse racing industry.
The Governor has four specific hits on agriculture which trouble Rutherford and his Senate Republican colleagues:
- Repeal of the state-s sales tax exemption for farmers with gross income of more than $1 million. The Illinois Farm Bureau estimates increased costs for corn and soybean farmers of about $7.63 per acre for corn and $4.59 for soybeans. Increased fee costs will mean livestock producers will pay more per animal - hog producers, as much as $3.30 more per pig; cow/calf operators, $2.74 per head; dairy operators, $91 more per head.
- Funding cuts in the Department of Agriculture by 10.7 percent and eliminate more than 100 jobs. The Land and Water Resources division and all Conservation 2000 programs will be transferred to the Department of Natural Resources. All environmental programs will be transferred to the Environmental Protection Agency. The Governor also raids several Ag Funds and transfers this money into other funds, including the General Revenue Fund to pay the state-s day-to-day operating costs.
- Elimination of funding for the C-FAR program, which supports agricultural and food products research grants to the University of Illinois and other public universities as authorized by the Food and Agriculture Research Act.
- Capping or restructuring funding in the horse-racing industry, which provides more than 37,000 Illinois jobs and is responsible for more than $1.4 billion in economic activity statewide.
Rutherford is calling on the agriculture community to join him in fighting against these harmful steps by the Blagojevich administration.
