John Maguire, National Cotton Council (NCC) vice president for Washington
operations, told an estimated
300 growers he is uncertain how much of the $5.61 trillion federal
budget surplus will be allotted for
agriculture programs.
Maguire was a featured speaker at the Feb. 14 2001 Southwest Crops Conference
-- an annual event
sponsored by Southwest Farm Press magazine, the Texas Agricultural
Extension Service, Texas
Agricultural Experiment Station and USDA’s Agricultural Research Service.
“Talk in Washington has $2.2 trillion of the surplus allocated for tax
relief, and about $2.5 trillion going
toward social security. What does that leave for agriculture?” Maguire
queried. “We’re not sure, but it is
positive that U.S. Rep. Larry Combest, R-Lubbock, is chairing the House
farm bill hearings that open
this week.
“We (producer groups) will be there to emphasize that farmers need enough
funds to carry them through
until Congress writes a new farm bill. And that is still two years
away.”
Republicans only slightly outnumber Democrats in the House, which means
the position and votes of a
small ‘moderate center’ will be important, and possibly beneficial,
for agriculture, Maguire noted.
“We’re not sure when the Senate will open its farm policy debate, but
we are optimistic about Agriculture
Secretary Anne Venneman,” Maguire said. “She is strong on consumer
issues, policy, and trade. And
we’ve heard she and Rep. Combest intend to make disaster assistance
a top priority in 2001.
“We would like to see short-term 2001 disaster assistance funded at
the same level as in 2000.
We also are pushing for severe economic loss assistance to address
the fact that weather, depressed market
prices and skyrocketing energy costs could be too much for some growers
to overcome this year. We fear
that far too many will simply get out.”
NCC believes long-term farm policy should continue the marketing loan,
the three-step market
competitiveness program, and nationwide funding for boll weevil eradication.
Future policy should also
include fixed farm program payments ‘decoupled’ from production; counter
cyclical payments to offset low
prices; no farm program payment limitations; and a cottonseed assistance
program, Maguire added.
“Our farm policy should also retain funding for the Farm Service Agency;
conservation and research;
export promotion and enhancement; emergency assistance and facilities
such as USDA’s Lubbock ginning
laboratory,” Maguire said. “But other issues also will affect farm
policy.
“Taxes, trade, the Food Quality Protection Act, biotechnology, immigration
, and Department of
Transportation regulations will also find their way into the mix. As
a result, the final farm policy mix will
largely depend on how much money Congress has to work with, and how
they choose to prioritize budget
appropriations.”