Nebraska

Delegates to Nebraska Farm Bureau's 2005 convention in Kearney recently adopted resolutions to make the 2007 farm bill more flexible in dealing with World Trade Organization requirements.

"The delegates supported looking at a revenue-support-based safety net to assist producers in times of low revenues, rather than the current safety net which is triggered by low prices," Rob Robertson, Nebraska Farm Bureau vice president/governmental relations said Dec. 9. A revenue-support system would more likely fall into the WTO's "green box" of permitted programs to aid farmers. The current system has some subsidies considered to be "amber box" because of potential to cause trade distortions, Robertson said.

"This more 'WTO-friendly' approach would give Farm Bureau more latitude to offer policy suggestions as the farm bill is discussed and developed and as the WTO is negotiated in 2006," he said.

The delegates also supported mandatory livestock identification, in conjunction with implementation of Country of Origin Labeling. "Generally speaking, the delegates recognize that the U.S. is the only country that has had a case of BSE and does not have an animal identification system. To be competitive in world markets, we need to move in that direction as quickly as possible," Robertson said.

At the state level, the delegates adopted policies that will guide Farm Bureau's legislative program. They supported efforts to provide funding for water conservation programs to help irrigators comply with restrictions on water use in overappropriated basins. "Farm Bureau believes the lion's share of funding should come from broad-based state sources," he said, "but we also see the need for a means for Natural Resources Districts to have the authority to provide a local match."

The delegates discussed support for biofuels extensively, Robertson said. "We continue to seek ways to support the ethanol industry and biofuels such as soydiesel. The policy adopted by delegates says the state absolutely must maintain its commitment to the Ethanol Production Incentive Cash fund to help ethanol facilities locate in Nebraska."

Delegates also were emphatic in their support for state legislation to prohibit use of eminent domain authority for economic development purposes. Farm Bureau will work with state senators to get legislation introduced and adopted in the 2006 session, Robertson said.

The Farm Bureau House of Delegates also took action related to two ballot issues. Delegates voted to oppose LB 126, which would require Class I school districts to merge with K-12 districts. "Farm Bureau will actively participate in the campaign to urge people to vote 'no' in the referendum on the November 2006 ballot," he said.

The delegates also supported increasing state senator's salaries from the current $12,000 annually to $21,000 a year. Farm Bureau likely will be active in support of Amendment 1, which will be on the May 2006 primary ballot, Robertson said.