Forum addresses changes to farm bill

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns will conduct a 2007 Farm Bill forum 2–5 p.m. in the E*Plex West Building at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds. Johanns and other U.S. Department of Agriculture officials are seeking input from citizens about farm policy considerations.

The public is asked to address six questions, in addition to their concerns:

• How should farm policy address any unintended consequences that could discourage new farmers from entering production agriculture?

• How should farm policy be designed to help the United States effectively compete in the global market?

• How should farm policy be designed to fairly distribute assistance to producers?

• How can farm policy best achieve conservation and environmental goals?

• How can federal rural and farm programs provide effective assistance in rural areas?

• How should agricultural product development, marketing and research-related issues be addressed in the next farm bill?

Dan Engemann, assistant to the director at the Missouri Department of Agriculture, said he expects farmers to attend the forum in hopes of preserving the policies of the 2002 Farm Bill.

“The general feeling in Missouri is that we don’t want a lot to change,” he said. “With the 2002 Farm Bill, there are a lot of good programs in it, and we’d like to see the majority of it stay intact.”

Engemann also said current efforts to eliminate the Step 2 Cotton Subsidy program and other subsidy programs likely will raise some discussion at the forum.

“The vast majority of the agriculture community doesn’t want any reduction in subsidies or commodity payments without an increase in the global market,” he said. “I think the general argument is, if we’re going to have a decline in subsidies, we want something in return.”

Comments about the 2007 bill also can be submitted online, under Farm Bill Forums.