12/16/05 Ag economist`s take on new farm bill

FLINCHBAUGH "So it's that time again to scare the hell out of farmers." That is Kansas State University ag economist Barry Flinchbaugh speaking recently at the Pacific Northwest Grains Conference in Spokane. The subject was the farm bill to be drafted by Congress next year. Flinchbaugh says people in Washington are good at getting everyone, farmers, ranchers, agribusiness, worried with all of the talk of huge budget deficits and spending cutbacks. FLINCHBAUGH "So my message to you on the farm bill is this. You're sitting in a room in one of the most delightful spots on the face of the earth. Relax, enjoy it. There will be enough money to fund the next Farm Bill." Flinchbaugh says you're going to hear the rhetoric from your congressman bemoaning the fact that there's no money for the farm bill. FLINCHBAUGH "That's a nice speech. They get you worried and they then deliver and you vote them back in again. They're not stupid and you don't want a stupid congressman." He does predict that a new farm bill will move away from counter cyclical payments and toward direct decoupled payments. He sees more spending for conservation above that of the 2002 Farm Bill and an energy section that will provide more incentives for the production of biofuels. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott