Obama Touts Rural Plans in Iowa

[Adelante]

SPENCER, Iowa (AP) — Powerful interests in Washington have swayed a new farm bill toward big business, Democrat Barack Obama said Monday, campaigning in the most rural region of this crucial early voting state and promising to do better as president.

"Once again the lobbyists stepped in to make sure that big agribusinesses got the multimillion-dollar giveaways that they've come to count on," said Obama.

The issue is crucial in rural sections of the country because the new farm bill will set food and farm policy for the next five years, including subsidy levels farmers will receive. There's a home-state tie as well because Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin heads the Senate Agriculture Committee which crafted a farm bill.

"Tom Harkin fought hard to pass a farm bill that stressed support for conservation and support for specialty growers," Obama said, contending the effort was deflected by the power of the agribusiness lobby.

Last summer, Obama held more than 30 hearings around the state getting grass-roots input before issuing a package of farm and rural development policies last fall. He was touting that package of proposals as he swept through northwest Iowa.

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