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March 1, 2006
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Ag lawmakers, industry officials gather for Focus on Farm Policy
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Conservation, budget, renewable energy take
center stage among farm bill
stakeholders
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By Jeff Caldwell
AMES, Iowa -- The Gateway Center in Ames was the center of the U.S. farm
policy universe for two days during Focus on Farm Policy: How the next
farm bill will affect your bottom line, held Feb. 24-25.
Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, who took the podium Feb. 24, told the
more than 150 in attendance that, in addition to the need for a farm program
that fits into the federal budget, agriculture can become "part of the
solution" with its role in the development of a national energy plan and the
research required to make it work.
"The best way to break our energy addiction is a strong faith in the role of
technology," Johanns said. "The government must encourage research and
development. We must make sure agriculture is part of the solution."
The Secretary also commented on current farm subsidies, saying too few
farmers benefit from payments, and that current support structures should
change to be more accommodating to global trade policy. "Most farmers don't
benefit from subsidies," Johanns said. "Support can be provided in less
trade-distorting ways."
Along those lines, he said a rural "portfolio" should be established to
define rural America, the pillars of which should be energy production,
conservation and research.
What does this mean for the next farm bill? Ag economist and farm
policy expert Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh outlined a bill he said, in 2007, would
mark the "beginning of the end of market-distorting programs." Such a bill
may include increased decoupled fixed payments, farmer savings accounts, a
fully-funded Conservation Security Program and "meat on the bones" of USDA
Rural Development.
Regarding budget worries moving into the 2007 farm bill, Flinchbaugh
questioned the concerns that funding would be undercut, based on historical
figures. In recent decades, the amount spent has gone well beyond what has
been allocated for the farm program.
"It is not what is authorized, it's what is appropriated and spent," he
said. "You can listen to the rhetoric, but don't forget the history. There
will be a farm bill."
Look for more coverage of Focus on Farm Policy in upcoming issues of
the Midwest Ag
Journal and during the Big
Show on WHO Radio.
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