12/27/2007 Best of 2007

Best of 2007. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. It was a busy year in the Ag industry this past year. Of course one of the main topics this year has been the Farm Bill and that is still an unresolved issue that will carry on into 2008. Other headlines this past year have been the fight over immigration. President Bush pushed for some sort of immigration reform. BUSH: Our immigration system has been broken for many years. Most Americans agree that the 1986 immigration law failed; it didn't work. It failed because it did not secure our border. It failed because it did not create a reliable system for employers to verify the legal status of their workers. And it encouraged more people to come to America illegally. It didn't work, and it needs to be fixed. When you find something that doesn't work, you have a responsibility to fix it. It doesn't look like there will be a fix to the immigration issue any time soon. In September, Ag Secretary Mike Johanns announced he was resigning his position to seek a Senate seat. Deputy Secretary Chuck Conner was named Acting Secretary. CONNER: It is a great honor for me to serve as Acting Secretary of Agriculture. Having grown up on a farm in Indiana and having been involved in agriculture all of my working life, I very much appreciate the President's confidence in me and it was gratifying to read of the positive comments from several members of Congress about my appointment as acting Secretary. There were a number of food safety recalls this past year including several involving pet food. A number of animals died as a result of the inclusion of the chemical melamine in various animal products. Many pet owners resorted to making their own dog food. 2007 was a big year in the ethanol business as the industry really started to come into its own and make some significant head way. The recently signed Energy Bill includes the call to have a large portion of our current energy needs converted to renewable energy in the next few years. Oregon Congressman Greg Walden traveled throughout the state talking about renewables. WALDEN: There's a lot of interest in the new biofuels initiative both in terms of ethanol and biodiesel and woody biomass as well by the way to look at ways to produce fuel from woody biomass so you have different systems that are being considered. 2008 does promise to be an exciting year in the ag business with a new Farm Bill hopefully being completed in the first quarter and the fact that it is an election year will keep everyone on their toes. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.