-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, July 18, 2005 2:19 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Dates of Next USDA Farmbill Forums in ND, MN, WI
Betsy Johnson, MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR INPUT -- NEXT USDA FARMBILL FORUMS Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced the location of the next three USDA Farm Bill Forums before a full-capacity audience of more than 400 stakeholders who attended the kick-off of USDA's nationwide farm bill listening tour in Nashville, TN. The next three forums will be: -- July 26 - 12:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. (CST) North Dakota State Fair - Minot, ND -- Aug. 3 - 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Minnesota Farm Fest - Redwood County, MN -- Aug. 4 - 11:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. Wisconsin State Fair - West Allis, WI The public is also welcome to submit comments via the USDA Farm Bill Forums website at http://www.usda.gov/farmbill. BELOW IS A REPORT OF THE JULY 7th USDA FORUM IN Nashville. In the coming months, the National Campaign's Policy Committees will be discussing goals for the 2007 Farm Bill, strategizing, and honing our messages. You are invited to join the Committees. For more information, go to https://www.sustainableagriculture.net/, or email [EMAIL PROTECTED] REPORT ON AG SECRETARY JOHANNS' FIRST LISTENING SESSION, July 7, in Tennessee: >From Congress Daily PM AGRICULTURE 2002 Farm Law Touted As Johanns Eyes Work On New One Several farmers told Agriculture Secretary Johanns Thursday night at his first "listening session" on the 2007 farm bill that the 2002 farm law is working well and they want programs that pay them more money when prices are low to continue in the next bill. "Thank goodness for farm programs. Let's not forget what brought us here," said one Louisiana farmer. The event was held in the Nashville studio of RFD-TV, a network serving rural America. A few farmers in the audience there or through telephone calls said the Freedom to Farm payments not tied to production have led landowners to raise rents or take back their land. The farmers said they would prefer that payments go directly to farmers rather than landowners and some suggested payments be tied more to production. A few participants suggested a return to parity, a farm policy concept that has not been used in decades, but which means farm policy should be based on making it possible for farmers to buy the same quantity of other goods from a standard list that the commodity could have purchased in the 1910-1914 base period. Several speakers also said they want "fair trade" rather than "free trade." One California farmer asked, "How can agriculture be expected to compete on a worldwide basis" when American farmers have to pay Social Security, comply with OSHA regulations, pay unemployment taxes and follow pesticide regulations. Another speaker said it was unfair that U.S. farmers find it so hard to sell products to Cuba and Iran. Johanns said little in reply to those statements, all of which run counter to the Bush administration's policies and several speakers complimented him for listening rather than talking. But he did say the administration might send legislative proposals to Congress and hinted that they might not follow the 2002 farm law. "The farm bill that made sense in 2002 may not be appropriate for the next five years," he said. On trade, Johanns said, "We will not disarm unilaterally," and noted the Bush administration had fought the World Trade Organization's decision against the Step 2 cotton program, but lost the case. Several other speakers said the government should help farmers grow crops for energy, but the potential conflicts within agriculture on that issue were also apparent. Joy Philippi, a Nebraska farmer who is the president-elect of National Pork Producers Council, told Johanns that 65 percent of the pork producers' cost of feed is corn and soybeans and that the next farm bill should "reduce the cost of production and increase the prices we receive." Asked by Orion Samuelson, the broadcaster who moderated the program, how he responds to those who asked whether food crops should be diverted to energy, Johanns said, "We're going to produce corn in abundance and soybeans in abundance." Some farm lobbyists had expressed concerns that the Bush administration might try to seed the audience with farmers who agreed with their positions, but the farmers in the audience brought up only one issue that has been a Bush administration priority -- repealing the estate tax. Johanns announced he would hold forums at the North Dakota State Fair July 26, at the Minnesota Farm Fest Aug. 3 and at the Wisconsin State Fair Aug. 4. -- by Jerry Hagstrom ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pam Browning Policy Coordinator National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture 110 Maryland Avenue, Suite 306 Washington, DC 20002 Phone: 202-544-5466 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.sustainableagriculture.net ______________________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
