The subsidy lobby is crying crocodile tears over the new payment limits in the reform bill they wrote for Nancy Pelosi.

But they are still awful grateful for her support.

From the Delta Farm Press:

As promised by Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, the new farm bill retains the structure of the 2002 farm bill. But it breaks new ground by providing a revenue counter-cyclical program, “rebalancing” target prices and loan rates and spending up to $1.6 billion for fruit and vegetable growers.

It also puts new limits on farm program payments that could cause some economic disruptions for cotton and rice producers who have been struggling with lost markets and resulting low prices in recent years.

The latter was the result of a last-minute compromise worked out between Peterson and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Peterson said he agreed to the new language because the speaker agreed to work to defeat even more stringent payment limit language on the House floor.

“This represents the biggest change in payment limits ever,” Peterson told reporters during a press conference held the morning after the committee approved its new farm bill by a unanimous vote.

The language would make any farmer with more than $1 million in adjusted gross income ineligible for farm program payments. It would also require direct attribution of farm program payments to individual farmers.

“This is beyond where I wanted to go,” said Peterson. “This is all part of the reform that a lot of folks wanted, but some of our members were clearly uncomfortable supporting it. They had to have some assurance they wouldn’t be subjected to even more changes down the road.

“The new rules don’t go as far as some people would like, but they also go further than we expected to go.”

Peterson said he felt wheat, cotton and rice organizations would oppose the new payment language. But groups like the National Cotton Council, USA Rice Federation and U.S. Rice Producers Association appeared to be reconciled to the changes.

“Although the rice industry would have preferred there be no further reductions to payment limits, the USA Rice Federation and U.S. Rice Producers Association have reluctantly agreed to the changes, recognizing the political realities Chairman Peterson faces in moving the bill through committee and across the House floor,” the groups said.

“We appreciated the strong statement from (House) Speaker Pelosi on this bill,” said Craig Brown, the Cotton Council’s vice president for producer affairs. “She said she thought the bill contained some strong reforms.”