OCTOBER 10, 2005

ISSUE 1084

 

JOHANNS RECAPS INPUT FROM FARM BILL FORUMS, NOTES SPECIALTY CROP CONCERNS

Speaking before the Commodity Club Thursday (October 6), USDA Secretary Mike Johanns recapped input he received from producers at Farm Bill Listening Sessions held across the country. One of those took place at FFVA's 62nd Annual Convention September 27.

Among his comments, Johanns said that although program crops represent only a quarter of the country's production value, they received virtually all of the funding from the 2002 legislation. "Put another way, 92 percent of commodity program spending was paid on five crops – corn, wheat, soybeans, cotton and rice. The farmers who raise other crops – two thirds of all farmers – received little support from current farm programs," he said.

And yet, Johanns said that as he traveled throughout the country, he had NOT been hearing those two-thirds of farmers – the fruit and vegetable growers and others – ask for program support. "Instead, they are looking to the future and asking for more focus on research and promotion, increased sanitary and phytosanitary enforcement, and access to new markets," Johanns said.

The next Farm Bill Listening Session in Florida, a nutrition-only forum, is October 19, 1:30 p.m., at Miami Dade College. Food Nutrition and Consumer Services Under Secretary Eric Bost will host the event. Prior registration is required. To register, call Ray Gilmer by Friday (October 14) at (321) 214-5200.