House Rejects Farm Support Referendum : 251-174 Vote a Victory for Reagan in Clash With Democrats

The House today rejected a provision in the new farm bill that would have let grain farmers nationwide choose between two sharply different approaches to future agricultural subsidies.

The lawmakers voted 251 to 174 to strike from the bill a producer referendum early next year on whether to accept the price- and income-support programs laid out in the new law, or to instead substitute sharply higher supports coupled with strict marketing and production curbs.

The vote came as a rare farm-bill victory for President Reagan, who was pitted against the House Democratic leadership on the hotly contested issue.

Price Guarantee

Backers of the referendum, sponsored by Rep. Berkley Bedell (D-Iowa), had argued it would offer struggling farmers hope at a time of widespread economic despair by guaranteeing them higher prices for their crops.

“When New York City was in trouble, I voted to help them out,” Bedell said in a plea to colleagues. “The same with Chrysler. We’re one nation. We’re simply asking to give farmers a chance to vote on whether they want a different farm policy. Don’t turn your back.”

The overall farm bill now before the House calls for annual reductions in crop loan rates for wheat, corn, cotton and rice to bring them more into line with world prices and restore health to the U.S. farm export market. The income farmers lose through the lower supports would be made up with larger income subsidies, known as “deficiency payments.”

Opposite Course

But with the referendum--a version of which remains in the pending Senate farm bill--grain farmers could have chosen instead a course that would be almost directly the opposite. If 60% of producers voted “yes,” they would have gotten higher price guarantees but would have agreed to produce less.

The House referendum also included a requirement that farmers participate in the program if they wanted to be able to sell their grain domestically. Farmers who did not sign up would have been required to either feed their grain to their own livestock or sell it overseas at the world market price.