06/13/06 Ease away from subsidies says farmer

Farm and Ranch June 13, 2006 The only traditional farm program participant the U.S. House Agriculture Committee heard from at their weekend hearing on federal farm policy held in Yakima, Washington, was Curtis Hennings of Ritzville, Washington. Hennings, who grows wheat, barley, canola and other crops said farmers, including himself, have for too long "farmed" farm programs instead of the marketplace and he favors the government gradually, emphasis on gradually, easing away from crop subsidies. He says the federal role should be as a market solicitor and market enforcer instead. Hennings: "Unfortunately farm programs are factored into everything farmers buy whether it be a combine, seed, seed treatments or crop protection chemicals. Farm program payments are also an escalating factor in land values and land values are one of the factors that make the U.S. the high cost producer of food products on the world stage." Hennings also criticized the Conservation Reserve Program. Hennings: "CRP, otherwise known as the "codgers retirement program", has done more than even Wal-Mart to destroy our rural economic infrastructure of our region." Hennings says keep the 25 percent county limit on CRP enrollment if need be, but also cap the enrollment to 25 percent of a farm instead of allowing whole farms into the conservation land retirement program. What most excites Hennings about the future are biofuels and other biobased products. He says if both the food sector and industrial sector are competing for land usage, agriculture will be strong. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.