Farms.com, Canada
07-05-07
Balancing Act - Week of July 9, 2007
Joann Alumbaugh
Payment limitations, bio-energy, research funding and rural health care were
among the topics discussed today by Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns and
Iowa Congressman Tom Latham. The two held a “Town Meeting” in Ames, Iowa
this afternoon, and I was there. Certainly meeting the wishes and desires of the
majority is a balancing act of major proportions.
The Secretary says Farm Bill Forums have been held in 48 of the 50 states. The
largest was in Minnesota, where 1,500-plus stakeholders attended. Most of the
forums attracted at least 300-500 people. As a result, he calls this “America’s
Farm Bill,” noting the 183 pages of USDA proposals were developed from
producer and industry input received at the regional and state meetings.
Certainly one of the biggest issues is payment limitations, but Secretary Johanns
says it’s time for a change.
“About 38,000 people will be impacted by this proposal across the United
States,” he states. “Quite a few of them are in Washington, D.C., New York and
New Jersey and they’re not really farmers – they’re investors. This will affect the
top 2.3% of those receiving payments.”
One attendee noted that payment limitations are more of a payment transfer and
that “cash rent takes the younger producers with smaller operations out of
contention.”
In response, Johanns says there are a number of ways to address payment
limitations, and stressed, “This is adjusted gross income, and if you’re netting
$200,000 a year for three years, you’re doing very well.
“We’re for all sizes of agriculture, but there’s a point at which you graduate,” he
continues. “We are paying out some very large amounts annually – we have
people receiving over $1 million per year. Now that’s a minority, but this group
gets a lot of attention and this has become a point of contention. I think we have
to move away from cash subsidies and that’s the thinking behind our farm bill.”
Congressman Latham doesn’t totally agree, in part because the southern states
won’t support a payment cap. “To get a farm bill actually passed, we’re going to
need [the Southern states’] support and it will be hard to pass our bill, which is
very restrictive.”
Bio-energy was also a topic of interest, as Secretary Johanns mentioned the
grant money available for cellulosic ethanol development. Congressman Latham
is also optimistic about ethanol development, with a caveat: “I’ve never seen the
optimism we have right now in rural Iowa and the rural Midwest, but with every
opportunity, there are huge challenges. We need to think outside the box and
change some policies away from the corn base. What happens to soil tilth if we
take off the corn stalks?” he asks. “What happens to our rivers and streams when
we don’t have those filters?” Congressman Latham is from a farm and his family
has a seed corn business, so he certainly is concerned about this topic.
Since the town meeting was in Ames, home of Iowa State University, several
questions centered on funding for research. Secretary Johanns stressed its
importance. “We’ve boosted research funding in a number of areas,” he points
out. “We are also reorganizing our research capabilities to allow USDA to link
with the university systems more effectively.”
Rural health care was also a priority among those attending the town meeting.
Several towns have had to remove services because they haven’t been able to
attract and keep doctors and psychiatrists. Both Johanns and Latham
acknowledged the challenges.
"We have 1,200 rural critical access hospitals (CAH) in the United States,” says
Johanns. “We have a fully funded loan guarantee program at $1.6 billion for
these CAHs to get up to speed in technology. Another $500 million can be used
for tele-medicine, which works out well for counseling and psychiatric care.”
Johanns explains that when he was governor of Nebraska, he found the healthcare dollars were going into institutional care. “We closed a couple of facilities
and dispersed that money throughout the state for community care. Still, it’s
difficult to find people who will locate in rural areas because volume pays the
bills.”
Latham recognizes the issue and feels government will need to look at
reimbursement issues and how they relate to rural areas. “We also might
consider a loan forgiveness program in exchange for number of years of service.
A few people stated opinions on the war in Iraq but both leaders quickly diverted
the discussion back to agriculture. Other questions included Lyme Disease
research, the World Trade Organization talks and industry structure. Regarding
the latter, Congressman Latham recalled the year his mother was inducted into
the Iowa Master Farm Homemakers Guild. He said the story appeared in
Wallaces Farmer magazine, and the caption under the photo of his mom, dad
and their four sons referred to how the structural changes in agriculture would
likely detract all four boys from returning to the farm because it wouldn’t support
them all. The year: 1959.
Interesting how the more things change, the more they stay the same.