House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) gave sugar policy a ringing endorsement during one of the first 2012 Farm Bill hearings.

Sugar policy is “working exactly as it is supposed to. I don’t foresee big changes in sugar,” he said during a May 3 field hearing in Fresno, California.

Growers at other meetings held by the committee in rural communities across the country echoed this assessment.

“Congress, in its wisdom, designed a sugar policy that is working to the considerable benefit of consumers and at zero cost to taxpayers, and is giving the remaining American sugar farmers a chance to survive,” said Galen Lee, a farmer and president of the Nyssa-Nampa Beet Growers Association, at a stop in Idaho.

“We strongly urge the continuation of this successful, no-cost policy in the next Farm Bill,” added John Snyder, president of the Washakie Beet Growers, a few days later in Wyoming.

Throughout each testimony, one theme has continued to surface: rural jobs.  And growers know that if sugar policy is weakened in the upcoming Farm Bill, it’s not just farmers who will feel the pain. The ripple effect will reverberate in the community.

For example:

• More than 8,000 Texas jobs are tied to sugar, and the local sugar mill accounts for 11% of the Rio Grande Valley’s agricultural output.
• In Wyoming, area growers and grower-owned companies produce 13% of U.S. sugarbeet production and support 1,500 full-time factory and seasonal jobs.
• Sugar pumps $1 billion into Idaho’s local economy, supporting 7,000 jobs.
• Nationwide, 146,000 jobs and $10 billion in economic activitiy are underpinned by a strong sugar policy.

Keeping so many people gainfully employed without running up the federal deficit is something lawmakers should be very proud of, according to Dale Murden, the Texas farmer and chairman of Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers, who testified in Lubbock, Texas on May 17. 

“American sugar farmers are grateful to Congress for crafting a sugar policy that balances supply and demand; ensures dependable, high-quality supplies for consumers; and improves market prospects for sugar producers,” he noted.

So to echo what Chairman Peterson said, the current sugar policy IS working the way it’s supposed to. Keeping in its current form for the upcoming Farm Bill will save taxpayer money, save jobs, and help local communities.

And that’s something everyone can get behind.  So much so that sugar may be one of the least contentious issues in the Farm Bill.