02/20/08 Lawmakers still trying to agree on farm bill spending

Farm and Ranch February 20, 2008 Offers and counteroffers have been going back and forth between key House and Senate members over the funding level for a 2007 farm bill. The first offer from House ag leaders was for six billion dollars over baseline, which was countered by the Senate at something about 12-billion over. According to Iowa Senator Charles Grassley the House countered that with an eight to ten billion dollar over baseline proposal. What does he think the final number will be. Grassley: "And I think it is real easy to compromise at nine billion dollars above benchmark." Or baseline. The administration liked the original House offer of six billion over baseline but said the Senate's offer was not acceptable. Forty commodity organizations, including the National Association of Wheat Growers, wrote House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders last week stating that anything less than 12.5 billion over baseline would severely under fund the farm bill. The letter said that anything less than that figure will require the farmer safety net to bear the unfair burden of paying for increases in spending in other areas of the bill. Whatever number is agreed to Grassley believes it will happen before the extension of the existing farm bill expires March 15th. Grassley: "Congress tends to do things by deadlines and the March 15th deadline, I don't think anyone wants to face the prospect of failing on this. And secondly, everyone knows it would be disastrous to go back to the 1949 Farm Bill." I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.