10/21/08 US budget deficit's ag impact

The next time you hear a politician talking about a billion dollars think about this. A billion seconds ago was 1959. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age. A billion dollars is spent by the US government every eight hours, often with money it doesn't have. That's why some economists think the national budget deficit will soon hit a trillion dollars. That's a thousand billion. With huge deficits programs will face the chopping block but American Farm Bureau's Tara Smith says the farm bill contains mandatory spending for the next five years. SMITH "So unless there is a major move to completely reopen the farm bill the farm safety net is safe for right now." It's hard to say what will get cut. Smith says it all depends on politics, the makeup of Congress after the election and who sits on the appropriations committees. SMITH "Agriculture spending is a tiny fraction of total US government spending and so making dramatic cuts to agriculture is not going to miraculously turn around the deficit. So will it have an impact? Will budgets be tighter next year? Probably. Smith says extension funding could be cut in the future but don't look for any FSA office closures in the next two years thanks to a Congressional order. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott