"The Farming Flexibility Act of 2011 will reduce government’s role in American farming and reduce government spending by $8 million dollars over ten years while adding American jobs and supporting family farms. It is a valuable expansion of the Planting Transferability Pilot Program that was included in the 2008 Farm Bill, based on the proven benefits for American farmers, processors, and consumers.”

In 2008, Congress passed a Farm Bill that continued draconian restrictions on the planting of fruits and vegetables, measures that threaten the livelihood of many farmers and hard working Hoosiers that grow and process these products. 

The Farming Flexibility Act of 2011 would remedy these restrictions by allowing farmers to opt out of the federal farm program on a yearly basis to raise produce for processing.  Farmers would voluntarily forgo federal subsidies in favor of producing profitable fruits and vegetables.  This bill would not only help farmers and the jobs of workers in Indiana, but it also would save taxpayer dollars by reducing the amount of money the government directs to farmers as a means of supporting agriculture.

Lugar, a member and former chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, has a long history of increasing production flexibility for Indiana's farmers while saving taxpayers money. He has consistently introduced and supported legislation to roll back government’s role in the agriculture industry. He worked to pass the 1996 Freedom to Farm Act that phased out Depression era farm supports in favor of more market driven policies.  In 2002, he introduced a farm bill that would have ended federal subsidization of specific crops while providing a strong safety net for all farmers.