09/21/06 Oman FTA & Farmers Making Less

The U.S. Senate has approved the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement by a vote of 63 to 31. The House approved the deal 221 to 205 in July. As a result of the agreement - some 87-percent of Oman`s tariff lines will go to zero for U.S. ag products on day one of the agreement. The remaining tariffs on U.S. farm products will be phased out over 10 years. Passage of the agreement with Oman is the fourth with an Arab country - reaffirming the Administration`s commitment to a growing and evolving Middle East region. Passage is also seen as a big step toward the implementation of the President`s plan for a Middle East Free Trade Area. Despite good crop receipts, farmers are making less profit due to soaring production expenses. Cash receipts from crops are expected to be a record high of 116 billion dollars but Ag Department Chief Economist Keith Collins says: COLLINS: That's probably where the good news ends because our net farm cash income estimates for 2006 are down 22%. According to Collins those numbers are due partly to a weaker livestock sector. COLLINS: And then the other side of the equation is the cash expenses which are way up. Way beyond what we had expected and projected by being up in so many categories. We expected the energy increase but something for example like repairs was way up over what we expected. So across the board fairly high farm production expenses. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Susan Allen. Some have said the world is flat in reference to a new global society. "Federal Health officials on Thursday announced a nationwide outbreak of a potentially deadly strain of E. coli that has killed one person and sickened 50 people in eight states who fell ill after apparently eating packaged spinach." This was the lead story in the September 15th edition of the San Jose Mercury News but interestingly the New York Times was more concerned about next spring's fashions and the Washington Post was focused on what senators defied Bush's terror policies. Listen up, 50 people became very ill in eight states and one person died a miserable E-coli inflicted death from eating salad greens. Why wasn't this headline news along with the fact the source of contamination hasn't been found? Now reflect back with me for a moment on the fervor regarding mad cow and beef. No one has died in the U.S. from BSE or even become ill , yet the media were like flies on a cow pie over the one infected cow found in Mapton Washington that never entered our food chain. It does appear that activists. Thanks Susan. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.