Lincoln to chair U.S. Senate agri committee

The naming of U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., as chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry could be good for the state’s agri interests and the senator’s near-term political future.

Lincoln announced Wednesday (Sept. 8) she will be the first Arkansan and first female to serve as chairman of the powerful Senate committee in its 184-year history.

In 2007, the U.S. reported more than 2.204 million farms with a $297.22 billion total market value of all agri products sold.
 
“As a seventh-generation Arkansan and farmer’s daughter, I know my father is smiling down on me today,” Lincoln said in a statement. “I am fortunate to have served on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry since I was first elected to the Senate in 1998. It has been a committee of significant importance to my constituents and our state’s economy. The Committee’s responsibilities encompass a number of issues that are critical to Americans, particularly those living in rural areas.”

Senate agri committee responsibilities include the child nutrition reauthorization, farm bill implementation and regulation of commodities.

Lincoln has served on the Senate agri committee since January 1999, and, as a member of the House of Representatives, she served on the House Committee on Agriculture from 1993-1995.
 
Eric Baker, an assistant professor of political science at UAFS, said Lincoln is in a “very plum position” to help the state’s agri industry — the largest economic generator in Arkansas — and her reelection campaign.

Lincoln faces a tough election cycle in 2010. Several Republicans have stepped up to the challenge. Also, Arkansas Sen. Bob Johnson, a Democrat and the most recent president of the Arkansas Senate, has said he is considering challenging Lincoln in the Democrat primary. The move by Johnson gives credence to recent polling numbers that suggest Lincoln is vulnerable for an upset in 2010.

And with the “nuts and bolts” of the Senate taking place in its committees, Baker said Lincoln’s new role indicates she is a “rising figure in the Senate.”

Jeffery Hall, associate director governmental affairs for the Arkansas Farm Bureau, said Lincoln’s move to the chair “is extremely positive” for agri interests in Arkansas and the nation because she is directly familiar with farm life. Hall also noted that past agri leadership in the Senate came primarily from Iowa and Minnesota.

“Our agriculture is different than those in the midwest and in the north,” Hall explained. “Now southern agriculture is there in a key leadership role.”