03/23/06 Energy issues and wheat growers

03/23/06 Energy issues and wheat growers

Farm and Ranch March 23, 2006 Wheat grower organizations continue to work for some federal assistance to help producers with high fuel and fertilizer costs. Just last week North Dakota Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan introduced the Emergency Agricultural Disaster Act of 2006. Jerry Snyder, President of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers, explains one form of assistance included in that bill. Snyder: "And they are discussing a possible 30% of your direct payment, that you would have received in 2005 to be paid directly to you. But, there are some wavering instances in there where it might be tied to production, production losses and we are concerned there." The bill also covers weather related crop losses and the Congressional Budget Office scores the bill at three-and-a-half billion dollars. Snyder, who was recently in Washington D.C. with other producers from the region, says they also worked on trying to open up what's called Lease Area 181 off the U.S. coast in the Gulf which could provide huge supplies of natural gas. Pipelines already exist to handle any production. Snyder: "Seventy to 80% of the cost of our fertilizer is directly related to the cost of natural gas. That is why this is so important. We could even see relief from this this coming fall." Wheat growers would also like an ag exemption from the Jones Act which would mean natural gas or fertilizer from Alaska could be shipped to the lower 48 on other than U.S. carriers, which just aren't available. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.
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