06/12/06 No energy aid; bigger cherry crop

Washington Ag June 12, 2006 Most of the funding for disaster and energy assistance for farmers was stripped from an emergency federal spending bill during a House-Senate conference last week. Only a few hundred million dollars of the original four billion contained in the Senate version was kept and that's for hurricane impacted areas in the southeastern U.S. St. John, Washington grain grower Jim Kile, who was in Washington D.C. last week for a CHS board meeting, observed something at the airport that exemplified the difference between agriculture and other segments of the economy when it comes to higher energy related costs. Kile: "I see a sign right by where you wait for the cabs that a taxi fuel surcharge is in place right now. So barge companies put it on, railroads and everything. But farmers, we can't put our fuel and fertilizer surcharge on." The Bush Administration has opposed any non-hurricane disaster relief. The Agricultural Statistics Service says Washington cherry growers should harvest 150-thousand tons of sweet cherries this year, a nine percent increase over 2005. Washington's Bartlett pear harvest is also expected to be up nine percent over last year. The June crop production report made no change in the winter wheat estimate for Washington. Yields were left at 68 bushels an acre for a crop of 122.4 million bushels. I'm Bob Hoff.