02/07/07 Farm Bureau Reacts

Farm Bureau Reacts. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. As expected - the President's 89-billion dollar agriculture budget request pares commodity payments sharply - while spending more for biofuels research and some conservation, food and nutrition programs. Commodity payments will see a dramatic eight-billion dollar fall-off from 20-billion to about 12-billion under USDA's fiscal year 2008 request to Congress - on the back of soaring crop prices due to ethanol demand. Bob Young is Chief Economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation. YOUNG: It's not that the actual support level or price triggers have been changed, they have not. Again, it's just basically because the market has gone up and the programs are working the way their supposed to. Still - the Administration's budget request adds 500-million each year in Commodity Credit Corporation estimates to help pay for new farm bill proposals. USDA boosts renewable fuels and commercialization by 161-million - but adds just 29-million for feedstock conversion to ethanol. The question is - Young says - is that enough? YOUNG: If this is a big interest to the nation as a whole then you know you kind of wonder about 20-million dollars being enough. It certainly isn't on the order of let's send a man to the moon and return him safely. Overall - ag research would fall about 284-million with more emphasis on competitive grants. USDA again asks to expand inspection user fees - traditionally rejected by Congress. Young explains. YOUNG: User fees for the meat processing plants and things of that nature as well as grain inspection services charge user fees for that activity to come back and use some of that to offset some of the funding and the funding needs for FSIS and grain inspection service. Meantime - the budget maintains CRP and EQIP funding - increases WRP funding and acreage - and increases CSP funding. But USDA will not offer new CSP or CRP sign-ups this year or next. Young says that's a disappointment...tape YOUNG: I think we'd like to see certainly a broader range of watersheds made eligible for that program if not to the extent that we could talk national opportunities for that program. I think that when we talk about basically not writing any new contracts or extending it to any new watersheds, that's certainly going to limit that. Separately - there are increases for crop insurance, trade promotion, food and nutrition, food safety - including avian influenza - but significant savings in rural development. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.