09/21/06 Farm Bill Need Extending

Farm Bill Should Be Extended. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. The American Farm Bureau Federation insists that the major titles of the 2002 farm bill should be extended for at least a year. That`s the message Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman will share with members of the House Ag Committee today (Wednesday). According to Stallman - his membership voted 89 to 11-percent in January to extend the farm bill until the outcome of the Doha Round of World Trade Organization talks becomes clear. STALLMAN: Trying to say that a 60% cut now in our trade distorting domestic supports is something we ought to go ahead and put into place because that was the last October proposal by the U.S. Certainly is not cognizant of the fact that at the end of the day we may not have sufficient market access to justify that cut. And although the Doha Round is stalled - Stallman says U.S. cuts now don`t guarantee other nations won`t demand even more if negotiations resume. Speaking to reporters Tuesday - Stallman pointed to the European Union Trade Commissioner to say the starting point is what the U.S. is currently using in subsidies - not what it`s already given up. STALLMAN: Peter Mandelson of the EEU is adamant about us not extending this farm bill. Well he's going to be the last person to give us any credit in the trade negotiations if that's the course we take. That is the course they would like to see us take because then the bar has been lowered. We've already given up something before we have to start negotiating again. But Stallman does admit some changes may be necessary to comply with WTO rulings. STALLMAN: One in particular is the fruit and vegetable planting restriction on base acres as a requirement for receiving direct payments. The cotton case ruling said that those were not illegal per se or that restriction was not illegal but it did mean that those payments were amber box and we have been reporting them as green box. To comply - Stallman says - may require the removal of the planting restriction - and some assistance to make up for the impact of the change. Other changes - including proposed changes to U.S. sugar policy - which sugar farmers oppose - or improving wheat supports - Stallman says - may have to wait. STALLMAN: If there are these kinds of changed that need to be made the money is going to have to come from somewhere. New money is going to be awfully difficult to find I suspect but the reality is, is that they will have to be paid for. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.