09/27/06 More Watersheds & Farm Bill Caution

More Watersheds & Farm Bill Caution. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. USDA on Monday announced 51 more watersheds will be eligible for the Conservation Security Program next year. Arlen Lancaster is Chief of USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. He says the addition of the watersheds means hundreds of millions of acres in all 50 states will be covered eligible for CSP. LANCASTER: If all these watersheds are funded by Congress then we'll have a total of 331 watersheds nationwide covering nearly 248 million acres. USDA Secretary Mike Johanns is again talking up the need for sweeping farm bill changes amid a possible new WTO challenge to US farm programs. But American Farm Bureau Federation and National Corn Grower officials are skeptical. AFBF's Garza says Farm Bureau feels USDA should be very careful about making farm bill changes prematurely. GARZA: We are still in the midst of WTO talks. WTO has not been finished. Our biggest fear is that if we go in and make any changes to the farm bill now, we could get a WTO in which case countries could ask us to do more. If we change this farm bill we could potentially lose leverage when it comes to negotiating in the WTO. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Susan Allen. Some have said the world is flat in reference to a new global society. While that doesn't always level the playing field it does make it transparent, and often the view isn't pretty. I believe that countries and people basking in affluence have a responsibility to share and many do. Many of you are aware that I adopted a son from Ethiopia in 1998 at age ten, who died last year in a plane crash. From Theo I learned one person really can make a difference. Groups like Farm Africa and Oxfarm received generous gifts in Theo's memory that enabled them to purchase goats for farmers in third world countries. One goat can help reduce aide dependency and inspire hope. Now, our Theo and his buddies in the orphanage didn't care a lick whether the food they received was organic or genetically modified or conventionally or sustainably grown, they were simply in awe of our nation's ability to keep them alive. I too stand in awe of organizations that donate food fiber and technology so commencing this Fall I'll be sharing some of my favorites. Thanks Susan. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.