04/20/07 Help for beginning farmers/ranchers

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns knows the only constant in the world is change and that's one of the messages he gave to an FFA convention JOHANNS "You know we're going to pass a farm bill in '07 and you know what, we're going to look at it in 012' and say that was pretty good for '07 but man has the world changed and that's only five years. That's what agriculture is all about today. The only guarantee I can offer young people; its going to change and you've got to stay up with the change." To keep the industry thriving young farmers are needed. Johanns wants a 250 million dollar program for beginning farmers and ranchers included in the new Farm Bill. It would mean direct payments on some program crops could be increased by 20 percent in the first five years of a new operation and it would cut interest rates for down payments on land purchases. JOHANNS "Just since the '02 bill we all of a sudden have a new dynamic in agriculture and its called renewable fuels. So all of a sudden farmers have new markets and new opportunities." Johanns says there are plenty of niche markets for beginning farmers and they don't need two thousand acres to make a profit. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott