04/27/06 Ag disaster assistance in trouble

Farm and Ranch April 27, 2006 The U.S. Senate this week began debating a 106 billion dollar plus emergency supplemental spending bill for hurricane relief and the war in Iraq that includes four-billion dollars in ag disaster funding. American Farm Bureau policy specialist Dana Brooks says the outlook for the ag funding is not exactly rosy. Brooks: "It is going to be very difficult to be honest. It's almost a four-billion dollar package and right now with the federal budget and the deficit any new spending is very controversial right now even though the need is great." And Brooks says some in Congress will only support ag disaster if the funding comes from other farm programs. Brooks: "We have robbed Peter to pay Paul the last couple of years in disaster assistance. It has come out of conservation programs and other very important programs. Farmers and ranchers are not really receiving the assistance they need. They are losing it in one way to gain it in another." The ag disaster funding would cover not only weather related crop losses but also provide a payment to farm program participants based on their 2005 direct payment, to help cover increased fuel and fertilizer costs. Senate Budget Chairman Judd Gregg told reporters this week he assumes a conference committee would come back at about 92 billion dollars for the emergency supplemental spending bill. That is closer to what the House passed and which did not include ag disaster relief. It is also closer to what the President has requested. And the White House this week threatened to veto the legislation if spending isn't scaled back. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network