12/06/07 IGPA president says politics causing financial problems

The 2007 Farm Bill has hit a wall in the US Senate and many Idaho farmers are frustrated by that. They say the Capitol Hill politics are hurting them. Idaho Grain Producers incoming president Matt Gellings says some Idaho farmers should be getting their advance payment for 2008. GELLINGS "And with this farm bill being held up they cannot get their advanced direct payments. Those guys are looking at that point, they're asking their bankers and bankers are going until we see some results on that end we can't really back you up on this. So it is a concern, a financial concern." Gellings says the Farm Bill passed by the House and the legislation that came out of the Senate Agriculture Committee is favorable to the wheat and barley industries. Gelling says they want to continue to preserve a safety net for growers through direct payments. GELLINGS "At this point right now its 52 cents and we've done our studies back and forth as far as the input costs and we'd like to see a little more than that. But actually both versions, the Senate and the House version are both maintaining our direct payment at 52 cents." Gellings made those comments at the Pacific Northwest Grain Conference in Spokane. He is disappointed that Washington wheat growers have dropped out of the Tri-State coalition and will go it alone. Idaho and Oregon grain producers plan a joint meeting next year Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott