KARL BERGER
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Almost all the “i’s” have been dot
ted and the “t’s” crossed on a new
five-year farm bill, but dairy far
mers are no closer to knowing the
government’s price support policy
than they were in January.
That’s because the very similar
farm bill proposals approved to
date by both the House of Rep
resentatives and the Senate are
subject to ongoing efforts to
reduce the federal budget deficit,
according to farm lobbyists in
Washington.
“They may have to rewrite
major portions of the bill to agree
with an as-yet undetermined
budget savings requirement,” Rob
Nooter, assistant director of
national affairs for the American
Farm Bureau Federation, said last
week. Nooter said the talk among
farm lobbyists in Washington
these days is of dollar numbers,
specifically the number of billions
that a budget agreement will
require in savings from a farm
budget that’s expected to cost
$53-54 billion over the next five
years.
That rewrite could spell major
changes in the agreed-to provi
sions, particularly for dairy far
mers, other analysts note. Steve
Kerr, director of the Northeast
Council of Farmer Cooperatives,
said the battle will be waged
between those who favor price
cuts as the sole answer to the
related budget and surplus prob
lems in the industry and those who
favor at least some form of modest
supply control.
However, Kerr said, there don’t
appear to be many supply control
options open to Congress, which
has already ruled out another
whole herd buyout program and
also has shown little support for
rigid quota systems. He suggested
some type of temporary diversion
program, whether for milk in gen-
Dedication and
Dependability—
Palmyra/Myerstown Kennett Square/Thorndale Lancaster
Andrew C. Terrell Clay Thomson Bob Zook
717-274-6402 215-444-6060 717-295-8577
MEMBER foic
Proposed Dairy
eral or butterfat in particular, may
be the best alternative the industry
can realize.
Currently, both the House and
Senate versions of the new farm
bill require U.S. Department of
Agriculture officials to implement
a supply control program if sur
plus projections exceed certain
levels, but the legislation does not
specify the details. The bills also
specify that the government sup
port price cannot fall below the
current $lO.lO a hundredweight
level. Both provisions are under
pressure from the Bush
administration.
Secretary of Agriculture Clay
ton Yeutter has made no secret of
his distaste for this proposed dairy
policy. In a recent speech criticiz
ing the proposed farm bills, he
singled out their dairy provisions
for special opprobrium. Yeutter
said the establishment of $lO.lO
as a rigid price floor would “bring
production quotas or other draco
nian supply control measures.” He
also said current gains in milk pro
duction represent a “race for base
in anticipation of regulated
quotas.”
However, any changes await
action from the budget. summit
between members of Congress
and the Bush administration. The
House and Senate members of the
farm bill’s conference committee
began meeting last week to iron
out their differences, but all the
major items affecting expendi
tures have been set aside pending
a budget agreement, Nooter said.
Prospects for a new farm bill
before the November elections are
thus diminished. “If there’s a
budget agreement by Oct. 1,
there’s probably a 50-50 chance of
a farm bill before they go home to
campaign,” Nooter said, but he
didn’t sound hopeful.
Robert Frederick, legislative
director for the National Grange,
said one possibility is that a lame
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Legislation Awaits Budget Axe
duck Congress will pass a new
farm bill in December, as Con
gress did back in 1985. There is
even sentiment for simply extend
ing the provisions of that 1985
farm bill indefinitely, he said.
That, too, would mean a continua
tion of the support price reduc
tions of the last five years beyond
the $lO.lO floor.
In yet another scenario, across
the-board budget cuts under provi
sions of the old Gramm-Rudman-
Hollings deficit reduction prog
ram or some other authority may
impose a direct assessment on
dairymen at least' temporarily.
Some estimates have projected
this fee at as much as 10.4 cents
per hundredweight, which would
collect about $l5O million
annually.
Long gone from the list of pos
sibilities is the component adjust
ment program, or CAP, that the
KILE Schedules ‘Challenge Of The Breeds ’
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.)
A unique Saturday evening
program is being planned for the
1990 Keystone International
Livestock Exposition (KILE) to
be held October 4-8 in the Farm
Show Complex.
This event, the “challenge of
the Breeds,” will pit four interna
tionally recognized horse breeds
the Appaloosa, the Arabian, the
Paint, and the Quarter Horse
against each other on Saturday
evening, Oct 6.
The animals, two from each
breed, will be chosen by their
respective breed associations. In
order to compete, the horse must
be owned by a Pennsylvania resi
dent.
Hie six events in which each
horse will be entered include:
• Pleasure Driving. Horses are
asked to perform both ways at a
walk and trot
• English Pleasure. In EAglish
National Milk Producers Federa
tion proposed at the beginning of
the farm bill debate. The federa
tion’s idea was to impose a lower
price on any milk component sig
nificantly in surplus. It would
have worked as a kind of two-tier
pricing system by component. The
federation’s proposed policy
would have coupled this with
some other form of standby sup
ply control for milk in general and
with support price adjustments
keyed to surplus production
levels. The federation originally
had requested the support price
floor be raised 50 cents, to $10.60
for milk of average butterfat
content.
National Milk, which serves as
the chief lobbyist for most of the
nation’s dairy cooperatives, would
like to preserve the supply man
agement option as an alternative
to continued support price reduc
tack, horses will perform both
directions at a walk, trot, and a
canter.
• Hunter Hack. In addition to
performing on the rail, the horse
will be asked to take two jumps.
• Western Pleasure. In western
gear, the horse will walk, jog, and
lope in both directions.
• Western Riding. The horse
performs a prescribed course
which demonstrates the perfor
mance of a well-mannered ranch
horse.
• Barrel Racing. A timed event
in the clover-leaf pattern is per
formed by the horse.
The horses will be judged at
each of these events on a point
system by a qualified judge. The
winning horse will receive the dis
tinction of being the Keystone
Sovereign champion and will
receive an award of $l,OOO. The
reserve champion will be awarded
Reading
•William Hughes
Blaine Fessler
Doug Darling
215-320-FARM
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 29,1990-Al7
lions, according to Lisa Keller, a
federation spokesman. She said
the industry is prepared to accept
the consequences of a budget
reduction agreement, as long as
they are imposed equitably among
all farmers. In that regard, she
noted that the government oper
ates supply control programs for
the other major commodities.
It was a point that Tom Camer
lo, the NMPF president, also made
in replying to Yeutter’s recent
comments.
“Unlike wheat and feed grains,
we don’t have a permanent supply
control program,” he said. “In
fact, of all major comodity prog
rams, dairy is the only one cur
rently without a supply manage
ment feature. I simply can’t under
stand why dairy farmers are
wrong to want to be treated like
other commodities.”
$5OO. Placings will be paid
through eighth place.
This marks the second time that
a “Challenge of the Breeds”
event has been held in Pennsylva
nia. Last year’s winner was “Paint
Me Hobby” shown by Terry and
Peg Helder from Wrightsville.
Jim Gallagher, chairman of the
event and co-chairman of the
KILE show, reports that the vari
ous breed associations are in the
process of looking for “outstand
ing” horses. The horses not only
must rate high in confirmation and
performance, but must be very
versatile.
In addition to the six events in
the “Challenge of the Breeds,”
the draft horse hitch classes will
be held during the evening. These
classes consist of the 4-horse
hitch, the 6-horse hitch, and the
farm team, just to name a few.
L J .
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