N.D. lawmakers talk farms

Scripps Howard Foundation Wire

WASHINGTON -- Two members of North Dakota's congressional delegation encouraged soybean farmers Wednesday to stay focused on getting the 2007 Farm Bill passed.

The American Soybean Association hosted them at its second annual Capitol Hill Soy Issues Summit.

Sen. Kent Conrad and Rep. Earl Pomeroy, both Democrats, assured the audience in separate speeches that they were re-evaluating 2002 Farm Bill policies and deciding what needs to be extended, amended or ended.

"We have to keep our eye on the ball to get this bill passed," Conrad said.

He said a super-majority vote, or at least 60 votes, will be needed to overcome a possible filibuster.

The 2002 bill expires in September.

Conrad said he went through more than 100 hours of negotiations for the 2002 Farm Bill and expects to do the same, if not more, for the 2007 bill.

"Things are different now," he said. "Back then, there was a budget surplus. Now, there's lots of red ink and (World Trade Organization) negotiations. Now, there's a lot of energy opportunity."

Pomeroy said energy opportunities are "great."

"We can never take our eyes off the biodiesel ball," he said.

Conrad and Pomeroy said they know of imperfections in the Farm Bill that must be addressed. Pomeroy said there's not enough money to fund new permanent disaster and risk insurance provisions in the bill.

"An insufficiently-funded bill is worse than no farm bill at all," Pomeroy said. "The government doesn't owe people checks. But risk protection is a good way for this bill to work."

North Dakota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson met with Pomeroy in May to discuss the need for permanent disaster legislation. In a press release, Johnson hailed Pomeroy and Conrad, along with Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., as champions of agriculture legislation.

The statement said the North Dakota delegation deserves "much of the credit for what has been accomplished."

Conrad disputed negative reviews of some 2002 and 2007 Farm Bill provisions. He said that, although some farmers earn more than $250,000 a year, they still have to pay for living costs and supplies.

"These are not wages," he said. "This is gross revenue. All expenses are included in this yearly income."

A yearlong 2006 Washington Post investigation, "Harvesting Cash," examined federal farm subsidies and reported on $15 billion in "wasteful, unnecessary and redundant spending."

"It's all a move to smear the agriculture campaign," Conrad said. "They're making it seem like things like this are the norm. I think it's unfair."

Pomeroy said he would do everything in his power to "close that loophole" of overly generous subsidies.

Earl Stabenow, an agricultural statistician at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's North Dakota field office, said farms with $500,000 or more in sales make up 6 percent of North Dakota farms.

"Forty percent of North Dakota farmers earn between $10,000 and just under $100,000," Stabenow said.

Stabenow said larger farms were not "corporate," but "farms with large economic sales."

Conrad said he hopes the bill will pass "before the August break," just in time for farmers buying new supplies for the fall.

The soy association's board of directors publicly endorsed a proposal by Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., to raise the target price for soybeans.

The soybean group said the target price levels for oilseed crops in the 2002 Farm Bill was too low. The organization wants a target price of $6.85. Peterson's proposal is $6.10, which the association said in a press release is "a step in the right direction."

The Post series can be found on online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/interactives/farmaid/ .