Nethercutt Draws Fire From Farmers

(From for the Record, January 15, 2000): Story wrong: U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt is seeking a fourth term in Congress. A Thursday article about his appearance at a Farm Forum in Spokane said otherwise.

Congressman George Nethercutt got an earful from farmers Wednesday at the Farm Forum.

About 30 growers, mostly wheat farmers, filled the small conference room where Rep. Nethercutt, R-Wash., told them what to expect from the federal government.

He talked about support payments continuing this year and how the U.S. keeps losing wheat sales to Pakistan for both political and economic reasons.

But to the dismay of some, Nethercutt said the 1996 farm bill - also known as the Federal Agriculture Improvement Act - wouldn’t be changed much this year. The bill was designed to phase out government control over growers, allowing farmers the freedom to respond quickly to market demands.

The legislation has been criticized because prices for nearly every commodity have dropped during the past three years and U.S. farmers have had trouble competing on the world market or even surviving without government help.

“I don’t see (the bill) opening up or drastically changing,” Nethercutt told the farmers. “Though it may have some tinkering.”

Some farmers asked for bigger changes.

“I think it needs more than just a little tinkering,” said Doug Flansburg, a Whitman County farmer.

“The free market isn’t functioning. There’s too much production.”

At the most recent count, U.S. wheat left in storage totals 1 billion bushels. Add to that another 3.8 billion bushels in storage worldwide and there’s little hope for selling the 2000 crop.

Flansburg suggested that the federal government set production levels for the next few years to help deplete what’s left in storage.

“The government should do it to bring prices up,” he said.

Nethercutt balked at the idea, saying the purpose of Freedom to Farm and his philosophy was to reduce government influence in individual decisions.

Another farmer pointed out that steps taken inside the United States might not affect world prices.

“It’s hard to control world supply of wheat when you’ve only got 12 percent of the market,” said John Payne, a farmer from Walla Walla County. “But we do need to get rid of the wheat in storage. I don’t care if we put it in ships and sink it in the ocean.”

Each year Australia, one of the Pacific Northwest’s biggest competitors, empties its storage by selling at low prices so it only has to sell grain from the next year’s harvest, Payne noted.

Nethercutt said as the Farm Bill matures and small changes are made, the lot of U.S. farmers could improve.

Referring to his decision to seek a third term in Congress, Nethercutt said, “I’m not looking for a long-term job guys. I promise you I’m not. But I want to see the Farm Bill through. I really think the next two or three years are critical.”

The Spokane Ag Expo and Farm Forum continue at the Ag Trade Center and Spokane Arena through Friday.