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Rural America at crossroads awaiting ag secretaryWICHITA, Kan. (AP)--Across America, those involved in agriculture are anxiously waiting to see who President-elect Barack Obama's tabs to the be the next secretary of agriculture. They say the new president and his ag secretary will have a chance to encourage national policies on such things as sustainable agriculture, renewable energy sources and improve trade agreements. "I have never been more nervous about selecting a secretary of agriculture," said Mike Callicrate, a Kansas feedyard operator. "This is an opportunity like we haven't had in 50 years." Meanwhile, wheat grower Jerry McReynolds is anxiously watching the plunging commodity prices and frets about talk during the presidential election about rewriting trade agreements. And Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Adrian Polansky enthusiastically talks about the potential for rural development because of rekindled political interest in next-generation fuels like ethanol, biofuels and the building of biorefineries. On the Internet, bloggers and organic food advocates muse about how the changed political climate offers opportunities for a return to sustainable agriculture. They blame the era of industrialized agriculture and agribusiness concentration on federal policies ushered in by Earl Butz, the agriculture secretary under former President Richard Nixon. "We established policies that just simply moved people off the ranch and farm and into big cities and reduced the number of people in rural America to the point now where we have a dying rural America and a disappearing United States food system," Callicrate said. Callicrate and other advocates of sustainable agriculture envision a domestic food system that rebuilds rural communities and a regionalized food distribution system that consumes less energy and supplies fresher, healthier food. "I think President-elect Obama does get that, but you know he is an urban guy. He came from Chicago, he came from an urban center," Callicrate said. "But I know he is willing to listen. And this next secretary of ag has got to be the right guy." The agriculture secretary and changed agriculture policies can extend far beyond farmers--affecting food safety and nutrition programs for millions of consumers as well as other economic, health, climate and energy issues. Former Rep. Charles Stenholm--whose name surfaced as a potential agriculture secretary--advocated restructuring the U.S. Department of Agriculture to better regulate food safety in domestic food production and imported foods. "USDA is the logical agency over food safety and it is not structured to do that job today--nobody is," Stenholm, a Texas Democrat and a lobbyist with a Washington law firm, told the annual convention of the Kansas Livestock Association on Dec. 5. Stenholm said he believes Colorado Democratic Rep. John Salazar is the top name on the list of potential ag secretary appointees. In Washington, D.C., National Farmers Union president Tom Buis--another frequently mentioned potential agriculture secretary--said the new administration needs to focus on the farm economy and producing safe, affordable, abundant food. "Certainly the meltdown of the economy has required immediate attention, and should as it affects us in agriculture tremendously," Buis said. "You have seen basically the brightest spot in the U.S. economy--the rural economy--flip in the last three months." Corn prices that were $7 a bushel earlier this summer are now under $3 a bushel as commodity markets plunged amid the global economic crisis. And input costs, while moderating somewhat, have not fallen enough to offset the price drop of corn and other farm crops. Buis is also quick to note that 73 percent of the new $300 billion farm bill goes to food and nutrition programs. With massive layoffs and unemployment, demand for food stamps and food banks will grow. And current trade agreements have put U.S. producers at a competitive disadvantage because they do not require the same environmental, health and safety standards for food production that American society demands, Buis said. Rep. Jerry Moran, R-KS, has already sent Obama a letter asking him to make it a priority to reform trade policies with Cuba. Regulations put in place in 2005 by the Bush administration have hindered agriculture and food exports to Cuba by requiring cash payments before ships leave U.S. ports, he said. Farmers like Steve Baucus are also deeply concerned about trade issues because the United States exports nearly a third of everything this country grows. And while the USDA is not the trade office, it has strong influence on what happens in trade negotiations. "A strong and active ag secretary can go a long way toward helping the trade negotiator understand the position that ag is in and helping us negotiate agreements beneficial to agriculture," Baucus said. For McReynolds, who grows crops and raises cattle, having a viable agriculture industry is a national security issue and a food safety issue. "More important than ever, we need somebody that is going to be an advocate for agriculture, and be willing to stand up to the administration for agriculture," McReynolds said. 12/15/08 Date: 12/11/08
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