10/06/05 NAWG president on high energy costs

10/06/05 NAWG president on high energy costs

Farm and Ranch October 6, 2005 The Board of the National Association of Wheat Growers did not pass any specific policy at its meeting in Portland this week that seeks federal assistance to help producers with high energy and fertilizer costs. Association president and Oregon grower Sherman Reese, explains what did happen. Reese: "The Board has left it up to the Domestic Policy Committee in conjunction with the officers and the lobbyists to try and frame in conjunction with other commodity groups, some sort of disaster bill that encompass those higher energy costs and so forth to see if we can't take care of the sudden price increase." Reese says getting federal assistance will be hard.. Reese: "Because there is a lot of sentiment on Capitol Hill that you are in the same boat the rest of us are in. Number one and number two are we have to pay for Katrina and we've gotta pay for Afghanistan and Iraq first and foremost before we worry about what may be affecting you in terms of fuel costs.. Now I don't happen to agree with that opinion. I think we are just as important but I know that the impacts recently have been huge on the budget and it is going to be difficult to try and get new money to pay for some of these increased costs we are experiencing." National Association of Wheat Growers president Sherman Reese. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.
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