11/27/07 NAWG President on the farm bill

Farm and Ranch November 27, 2007 He had first hoped to have a farm bill out of Congress by Thanksgiving. Now, John Thaemert, National Association of Wheat Growers President hopes to get a farm bill by Christmas. As for talk about extending the 2002 Farm Bill: Thaemert: "We really don't want an extension. We want a bill. We want to know what we are dealing with. Wheat producers, especially winter wheat producers, are dealing with policy they don't know. They don't know what is going to be yet. We don't know what to cash flow for. We don't know what to expect. We don't know what to budget for. And nobody likes the unexpected and nobody likes the uncertainty, so we hope we get a bill out pretty soon." As the situation stands now, Thaemert says wheat growers like the farm bill passed by the House. Thaemert: "We don't know what the Senate version is for sure but right now we like the House version. So, you know it all depends upon what happens in conference. That is where all the deals get cut and made and we are going to monitor that process closely. We are going to monitor the whole process all the way through." When asked about the current high wheat prices Thaemert emphasizes it isn't all just about price. Thaemert: "It is not how much money you make it is how much money you keep. And the net income is the important figure to keep an eye on. We have to make sure that we monitor these input costs and that there isn't some gouging that we can maintain our competitive basis. That is one of the main reasons why we are focused on keeping the safety net in the farm bill." Thaemert is scheduled to be at the Pacific Northwest Grains Conference, which gets underway this Wednesday in Spokane. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.