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News from the Minnesota Association of Wheat |
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AFBF WILL SUPPORT SUPPLEMENTING FARM INCOME Farmers and ranchers who understand "down-home, dirt farm economics" are the best ones to lobby Congress and the administration about what agriculture needs, says Stallman. "Anytime
you can relate a policy position to what you've personally done -- that allows you to better communicate your position." Stallman, elected recently at the AFBF annual meeting, is a third-generation rice farmer in
Colorado County, Texas. He has served as the Texas Farm Bureau president since 1993 and succeeds Dean Kleckner of Iowa who had been AFBF president since 1986. "In this session of Congress," said Stallman,
"House members are obviously going to start the debate on farm policy. There's also pressure on the Senate side. I'd like to see good, well thought-out farm policy, but too many times decisions are made based on
the political expediency of the moment." Congress should "quickly determine" how to spend the $6 billion set aside for crop insurance reform, he added. He acknowledged the "strong difference of
opinion between the House and Senate Agriculture Committee chairmen over how to spend the money." AFBF will work with both committees "to develop the best crop insurance policy to help our farmers and
ranchers." Trade is essential to long-term stability for farmers and agribusiness, he said, especially increased market access. "We need the administration to take a very hard look to ensure that agriculture
remains at the table throughout the next round of World Trade Organization talks so that agriculture isn't dealt with separately outside the negotiations." Stallman assumes the Farm Bureau leadership when
Congress faces multiple farm issues and has little time to deal with them. The House and Senate will hold their first session of the year today, but as in most presidential election years will have only a limited number
of days to work on legislation. Congress has not taken final action on crop insurance legislation passed last year by the House, may debate changes in the 1996 "Freedom to Farm" law, and needs to reauthorize
and revamp the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, among other farm-related issues.
USW RESPONDS TO CANADIAN WHEAT
BOARD CLAIMS OF INNOCENCE: PROVE IT! Last week, USW presented members of the Canadian Wheat Board with specific instances of price undercutting in foreign markets,
and challenged the Board to ask Canadian wheat producers, directly and explicitly, whether they wanted an alternative to the closed monopoly of the CWB. The CWB response, which didn't even address the issue of freedom
to market for Canadian producers, was "predictable, but still sad," according to Alan Tracy, president of USW. "Their response simply illuminates the reasons for the U.S. calls for transparency. For
years they have denied charges, even when presented with bills of lading and contracts, but they still won't open their books to the light of day to prove their case, " Tracy observed. "Frankly, their
claims of cherubic innocence are getting quite old and decrepit. If the CWB was transparent, everybody, even their own producers, would have all the proof they need that the U.S. is telling the truth." One
of the results of the CWB's deliberate practice of undercutting prices to gain market share is that Canadian wheat producers receive less than U.S. producers. A study sponsored by the Organization for Western Economic
Cooperation, based in Saskatchewan, shows that Canadian producers averaged 50 to 75 cents per bushel less in the 13 years reviewed (1984-96). Tracy also stepped up his criticism of CWB's failure to respond to the
needs of the Canadian wheat growers who want a choice in how they market their wheat, pointing to a news release from the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association (WCWGA). According to the growers, "the wheat
board operates at a level of secrecy that fuels cynicism among farmers and may be one of the reasons for its plummeting support." The WCWGA reported that a 1998 poll, conducted by the CWB but never formally
released, showed that two-thirds of Canadian farmers wanted either a dual marketing system or an open market. "Again, I challenge the CWB to hold a referendum on their monopoly," Tracy said. "If they
are doing such a great job, open their books, prove it to their growers and the international community, and begin the twenty first century with a clear commitment to offer choice to the growers of Canada."
IN DRAFTING ORGANIC FOODS RULES, USDA MUST DETERMINE WHAT IS 'ORGANIC'
STUDY DOUSES HIGH HOPES FOR HEMP AS BIG U.S. CROP WASHINGTON - Despite hemp's cachet as an up and coming textile, it probably never would be a financial
bonanza for U.S. growers, a government study said on Jan. 21, pouring cold water on some farm income hopes. Industrial hemp, a cousin to mood-altering -- and illegal -- marijuana, has gained attention as an
alternative to cotton for textiles and apparel as well as a possible cash crop for small farms. The first test plots for industrial hemp were planted last month in Hawaii. Canada and Australia legalized hemp growing
in 1998. Nine U.S. states, including Hawaii, passed legislation last year regarding research, study or production of the crop. Agriculture Department economists concluded the market for industrial hemp ``is and will
likely remain a small, thin market.'' ``Just a few farms'' could grow all the industrial hemp needed for domestic mills at present, they calculated. If hemp took away all of the linen market, it would require a
comparatively small 250,000 acres (98,425 hectares) to grow it. That equals 40 percent of land now devoted to tobacco and 0.4 percent of land sown to wheat. Hemp enjoyed a surge of interest in tobacco states recently
as farmers looked for substitutes for tobacco, a crop with far higher returns than cotton, corn or soybeans. Most growers have small farms so they need crops with large income per acre (hectare). The small volume of
linen used each year ``suggests that hemp, flax's close cousin in fiber uses and in production techniques, will be unable to sustain adequate profit margins for a large production sector to develop,'' the report said.
More than 1.5 million pounds (682,000 kg) of hemp fiber were imported last year. About 523,000 pounds (237,700 kg) of hemp fabric were imported in 1998 and hemp yarn imports peaked at 625,000 pounds (284,000 kg) in
1997. It would take about 2,000 acres (787 hectares) to grow that amount of hemp domestically, the economists said. Canadian farms grew about 35,000 acres (13,800 hectares) of industrial hemp last year.
NEW PRODUCER CO-OP AIMS TO CONNECT FARMERS WITH MARKETPLACE These ag leaders will develop FarmConnect as an accelerated effort to connect producers with market opportunities.
"As producers, we realize that we need to break out of the rut of producing undifferentiated commodities and being price takers," says Art Brandli, Warroad, MN farmer and chairman of FarmConnect. "FarmConnect is
designed to build a system that will simplify the process of locating market opportunities for farmers, while at the same time, simplify the food industry's need to identify farmers who can supply them with the products
they need." "What we ultimately want to see is a win-win situation for both producers, and end-users," says Brent Sorenson, FarmConnect CEO. "FarmConnect is a producer-owned, market-driven organization that will
work with buyers to find out exactly what they need, and will work with producers to provide information on crop or livestock production to meet those needs." Sorenson says FarmConnect benefits end users by
connecting them to significant numbers of producers capable of supplying the quantity and quality of products desired, and benefits producers by identifying market niches and opportunities to add value to their
production. Brandli says the strength of FarmConnect will be in its ability to bring together active, innovative producers of a diverse number of crops and livestock. "The cost to join FarmConnect, at $500 per
member, was purposely set at a very low level to encourage the widest possible participation of producers," says Brandli. Minnesota farmers can learn more about FarmConnect at a series of meetings being held across
the state beginning in mid-February, or by calling FarmConnect at 218-281-8449. To find out where meetings are being held in your area, visit the FarmConnect website at CONTACT: Art Brandli, Chairman –
218-386-2083 or Brent Sorenson – 218-281-8449 |
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