01/31/07 Farm Bill reality check

Because of record high prices for corn and other crops, the Congressional Budget Office is now projecting a 31 billion dollar decrease in spending for farm program subsidies over the next decade. The CBO looks at expected federal spending and receipts and its latest projection is going to make writing the new Farm Bill even more difficult. When the final CBO report is issued in March, congressional budget committees must stay within the CBO projections unless offsets are found. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns is putting the finishing touches on his Farm Bill proposals. JOHANNS "We're not very far off. I've said all along that sometime in the next couple of weeks we should be in a position to get an announcement out there and talk very specifically on what we're proposing for the next Farm Bill." One thing he's sure of is the renewable energy portion of the Farm Bill. JOHANNS "We will be proposing 1.6 billion dollars in new funding for renewable energy with a focus on cellulosic energy research and production." Canadian based Iogen Corporation has been talking about the Idaho Falls area as the site of an ethanol production plant using wheat and barley straw as the feedstock. That's just one of the potential cellulosic plants being proposed but Iogen is waiting for government loan guarantees before it will commit to building the facility. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott