02/17/05 Ag econ professor calls ag `house divided

Doctor Barry Flinchbaugh is an agricultural economics professor at Kansas State University who says there's one word that best describes American agriculture today. That word is 'risk.' Flinchbaugh also told the attendees at the Idaho Ag Summit that he's never seen US agriculture as divided as it is today. FLINCHBAUGH "I've also never seen agriculture as powerful as it is today when we get our act together. No industry is more divided than the cattle industry and that's happening at a time when they have a full plate of issues. We have two cattlemen's organizations that don't speak to each other. We have two corn grower organizations, two hog producers organizations. The last time I counted we had four wheat organizations." Flinchbaugh says American agriculture has to learn how to practice the politics of the minority. FLINCHBAUGH "And the first rule of the politics of the minority is that you don't wash your dirty linen in public." Flinchbaugh calls in the President's proposed agriculture budget cuts 'very, very modest.' FLINCHBAUGH "The cut is 587 million. The Bush farm program budget in total is a 2.7 percent cut." Doctor Flinchbaugh says changes need to be made in future farm policy. Tomorrow, you'll hear some of his ideas for the future. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott