10/21/08 The budget and ag spending

Farm and Ranch October 21, 2008 There is already chatter about what a growing federal budget deficit may mean for agriculture. The nation's 455 billion dollar deficit could mean a lot of federal government programs could face the chopping block next year. Smith: "The good news is that we just passed a 5-year farm bill and it contains mandatory spending for the farm safety net for agriculture. So, unless there is a major move to completely reopen the farm bill the farm safety net is safe for right now." But American Farm Bureau Specialist Tara Smith says it's hard to say what will get cut. Smith: "It really kind of depends upon the politics and how things play out next year and who is in congress and who is on the appropriations committee but we are going to be keeping an eye on the mandatory farm bill dollars to make sure they don't get tapped into. We are going to be keeping an eye on rural development dollars to be sure that those programs are fully funded through the appropriation process." Conservation spending is where lawmakers often look to cut spending but Smith says; Smith: "Conservation is part of the farm bill. It is mandatory spending. That is not to say that the appropriations committee can't find way to tap into some of that funding, but the conservation community has already made it very clear that they will protest very loudly if the appropriations committee chooses go that route." Some ag leaders fear that direct payments will be the target of budget cutters particularly given the perception that agriculture is doing well. The Farm Bureau's Smith says agriculture isn't the best place to look for savings as it represents just a fraction of federal government spending. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.