12/15/05 What form will the new farm bill take?

Congress will begin work on a Farm Bill next month. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns says he's been listening to what farmers and ranchers have been saying during a series of open houses including one in Idaho. There's nothing on paper yet, it's all talk but the opinions are wide and varied. JOHANNS "You go to west Texas its 100 percent in favor of the farm bill. You go to North Dakota, I think we heard the same in Arkansas, 'boy if I could promise that all we need is a new cover I think that I would get pretty good acceptance.' You know some of the areas especially in the western part of the United States suffered drought. Well guess what? Under the farm program if you don't raise a crop there's no LDP is there?" And fruit and vegetable growers are making it clear that they want a place in the farm bill and not necessarily as a program crop. JOHANNS "We want greater investment in phytosanitary sanitary issues. We worry that what is imported is risking our crop. We could go on and on about the phytosanitary sanitary issues, market promotion, research. They really believe that their future is in cutting edge research in terms of crops, disease management, pest management." More on the farm bill tomorrow. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott