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Farm bill on the minds of soybean farmersBy Jennifer Bremer With the farm bill on the minds of many at the 2008 Commodity Classic, American Soybean Association president John Hoffman said they are hoping to see a bill soon. "We are working with legislators on rebalancing target prices and loan rates to give a priority to provisions in one area or the other," said Hoffman, an Iowa farmer. Consumers are helping soybean farmers by pushing toward the elimination of transfats, which also pushes the use of soy oil in cooking. Hoffman praised the passage of the Water Resources Development Act to help the lock and dam systems on rivers where soybeans are frequently transported on those waterways. ASA first vice president John Dodson discussed the importance of exports to the soybean industry during the press conference. Dodson stressed the importance of approvals to WTO openings with countries that have been a challenge to work with in the past. Tariff referendum negotiations with Brazil and Argentina would allow for easier trade with those countries. ASA continues to work on opening export markets all across the world to add value to American soybeans. North Dakota farmer Rick Ostlie, who serves as chairman for ASA said the biodiesel program is also helping soybean farmers get more money for their crop. "Biodiesel will help meet the bioenergy program. The goal is for one million gallons of biodiesel to be produced by 2012," he said. "We hope to have biodiesel available at the splash and dash stops by then." Ostlie expects to see a strong soybean crop in 2008, which will help move toward this goal. "Soybean acres are expected to be up considerably this year. Even with high wheat prices, wheat farmers may have some problems with disease, so we should see the more durable crops -- soybeans and corn -- have a large number of acres," he said. Hoffman concluded with the importance of getting a new farm bill so farmers will know what to expect in the future. "Getting a new farm bill is more important right now than looking a year away in production," he said. "Without a farm bill, it's hard to make other policy." Jennifer Bremer can be reached by phone at 515-833-2120 or by e-mail at jbremermaj@hotmail.com. 3/24/08 Date: 3/19/08
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