07/13/05 CAFO moritorium; energy bill negotiations

Gooding County commissioners will add another 90 days to their existing 120 day moratorium on confined animal feeding operations. Commissioners say they still don't know how many cows there are in the county, making it impossible to assess the impact that dairies have on ground water. The Department of Agriculture counts more than 100 thousand cows in the county but the Department of Environmental Quality says there are 75 thousand. Add to that the fact that commissioners still haven't finished revising their current CAFO ordinance during the past 120 day moratorium. House and Senate negotiators start the heaving lifting this week as they try to reach a compromise on the Energy Bill. Ag groups will be pushing hard to retain the Senate's eight billion gallon renewal fuels standard versus the five billion backed by the oil industry in the House bill. Monte Shaw of the Renewable Fuels Association says its time to get down to business. SHAW "This is not going to be a walk in the park. The same issues that confronted people two years ago are still there. But we just had gas prices set an all time new record over the weekend. Crude oil is setting all time new records. Natural gas is really squeezing our ability to compete in the world marketplace." Shaw doesn't think the Congress can get a bill to the President prior to the August recess. He says it's more likely that they'll finish work on the bill after Labor Day. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott