02/04/08 The administration and permanent farm law

Farm and Ranch February 4, 2008 Former Republican chairman of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee Larry Combest says using the old 1949 permanent farm law as leverage is a good tactic for Congress to use in negotiations with the administration over a new farm bill. Current House Ag Chairman Collin Peterson is saying if Congress can't get a bill the President will sign then he could live with farm policy reverting back to the permanent law. In fact Peterson prefers that to extending the 2002 Farm Bill. In a recent interview Deputy Agriculture Secretary Chuck Connor told us permanent law is not workable. Connor: "Permanent farm law is based upon farm policy in 1949. I sort of describe this as the equivalent of sending agriculture back to the horse and plow because 1949 is about as relevant to 2008 agriculture as a horse and plow would be to a modern agricultural system. It is not workable. For some commodities it is highly inflationary. It would add another 50% on top of already very high dairy prices for our consumers. For other crops there is no program at all under 1949. So, you know, this is not a viable option." Commodities for which there would be no support under permanent law would be oilseeds and peas, lentils and chickpeas. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network