October 21, 2007	Sunday	Shawwal 8, 1428

WASHINGTON, Oct 20: US Senate Agriculture Committee leaders would adjust two key elements of U.S. crop subsidies, loan rates and target prices, as part of a farm bill that would create a revenue protection option, the panel said on Friday.

A committee summary of the proposed commodity section of the farm bill said the loan rate for raw cane sugar would be raised by 1 cent a lb and a program would be authorized to convert surplus sugar into fuel ethanol.

Although the summary said loan rates and target prices will be “rebalanced,” the figures were one of the issues still under negotiation and not yet available, a committee spokeswoman said. On Wednesday, a senator said wheat, soybeans, barley and oats would get higher target prices.

Leaders said they would eliminate the “three-entity” rule that allows producers to collect subsidies indirectly and would require payments to be tracked to individuals. They also would require producers to sell their crop on the same day they claim a loan deficiency payment, a change from current law.

After harvest, the Agriculture Department would calculate the actual state revenue using the actual state yield per planted acre and the harvest price used by crop revenue insurance policies.

---Reuters