02/10/06 FB initiative update/ARMS survey

Washington Ag February 20, 2006 The Washington Farm Bureau this week filed the final language with the Secretary of State's Office for its Property Fairness Initiative. The measure would require state and local government to compensate landowners when regulations "damage use or value" of private property. Farm Bureau president Steve Appel, says requiring such compensation should encourage lawmakers and regulatory agencies to act with restraint. You can learn more about the initiative and the campaign to get it on the November ballot at www.propertyfairness.com The Washington Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service is conducting its annual Agricultural Resource Management, or ARMS survey. Director Chris Messer urges producers to participate in the survey which is one of the last chances to provide financial facts for policy makers to use in crafting a 2007 Farm Bill. Like increased fuel, fertilizer and labor costs. Vicki Sligar is a field supervisor in Central Washington involved in conducting the survey. Sligar: "We go and we talk to the farmers and it takes about an hour of their time. Usually they have their financial records or their computer. They give us exactly how much their fertilizer costs are, how much their trucking costs, the crops that are grown and the total production of the crops for the entire year." And that individual information is kept confidential. I'm Bob Hoff.