Wheat farmers skeptical

A top federal agriculture official speaking at Spokane Ag Expo and the Pacific Northwest Farm Forum said a proposed 2007 Farm Bill from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture released last week offers important subsidies for growers, provides billions more for conservation programs, emphasizes crop based fuels and supports farming towns.

Yet, U.S. Undersecretary of Agriculture for Rural Development Thomas Dorr’s talk did little to assuage the fears of wheat farmers who worry high grain prices may not be here to stay and that the bill proposal will do little to direct more federal dollars to ensure to financial survival of grain farms in Eastern Washington and Idaho .

Wheat farmers have said the last farm bill from 2002 failed them. Among their complaints: wheat producers did not receive counter cyclical or loan deficiency payments. Rather, farmers received only direct payment supports at a time when costs for fuel and fertilizer have eaten up any gains from higher commodity prices.

Dorr said the agency’s proposals were carefully considered and meant as a good starting point in a process that will ultimately be handled by Congress.

The National Association of Wheat Growers said a proposed modest climb in direct payments would not be enough to offset what have become inequities among program crops that have traditionally been the backbone of the nation’s farm economy.

“Wheat did not receive an adequate safety net in the 2002 Farm Bill,” wheat association president Dale Schuler said in prepared remarks about the USDA’s new plan. “No group of growers would be more disadvantaged by this proposal than wheat growers.”

The Farm Bill could be passed by September. The 2002 bill was considered a success by USDA, which seeks to continue many of the same ideas but cut off farmers earning more than $200,000 a year.

Such a proposal could stunt the drumbeat of criticism that subsidies are out of control and benefit giant farms.

Another proposed change may be the focus on crop-based fuels. Dorr said the Ag Department is interested in fostering a bioenergy industry in farmland. The president has stated he wants cut American gasoline consumption by 20 percent within 10 years – partly by igniting growth in the ethanol industry.

To help, Dorr said his agency proposes providing $2.1 billion in loan guarantees to support cellulose-based ethanol projects in rural areas. This is ethanol made from source other than corn, such as wood chips, switchgrass and other plant material.

The proposed farm bill also will offer younger and minority farmers with enhanced support packages. The farming demographic has been graying for many years and there’s concern that maintaining a viable rural America depends on encouraging younger people to farm.

Among the ideas to help small towns, Dorr’s agency is set to provide $1.6 billion in loans to upgrade about 1,283 rural hospitals.

In an earlier presentation to farmers, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris-Rogers said she would hold more listening sessions to hear what Eastern Washington wants in the 2007 Farm Bill.