08/28/08 Farm bill comparisons

Farmers and ranchers have been trying for several months to look at the new farm bill, with its many new programs and changes, in an attempt to understand the legislation. Kitty Smith who runs the USDA's economic research service says she has the solution. SMITH "A side by side comparison of the 2008 bill with previous farm legislation." Smith says the folks in her department came up with a website on the farm bill www.ers.usda.gov. They're getting 13 hundred hits a day and its not just ag producers. SMITH -"Attorneys, journalists, congressional staff, researchers, government agencies, interest groups, anyone who needs information on the farm bill and its many, many provisions." Again, ers.usda.gov. Idaho has a one million dollar grant to strengthen the High Risk Insurance Pool. The federal award helps get more insurance coverage to Idahoans who otherwise would not have access to affordable health care. Governor Butch Otter's office says more than 63 hundred Idahoans have utilized the pool which has paid out nearly 29 million dollars in medical claims. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott