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January 19, 2001

Stallman calls for
leadership to end ag slump

The social and economic pressures confronting America's farm and ranch families demand better oversight from the new politically balanced Congress and the new Bush administration, and, in a speech marking the end of his first year as president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Bob Stallman expressed confidence that bipartisanship will trump predictions of gridlock.

"These are tough times, no doubt about it," Stallman said during his
2001 annual meeting address to Farm Bureau members in Orlando, Fla. earlier this month. "Low prices, weather crises, higher input costs, foreign and domestic protectionism and other symptoms have weakened our industry. We need leadership and follow-through from our elected leaders if we are to bridge the agricultural knowledge gap of regulators who are increasingly influencing the way we manage our operations."

Stallman, a Texas rice and cattle producer, urged farmers and ranchers to make their voluntary efforts in the political arena mandatory.

"The closeness of the presidential election and the balance between the parties in both houses tell me that our input will be valued and valuable," he said.

The AFBF president said economic pressures in agriculture cut across regions and commodities. As the agricultural slump extends into its fourth year, the AFBF president said "more producers of more commodities are failing to receive satisfactory returns from the marketplace." Stallman said that "too many" farmers have been forced to turn to government assistance, but for some, even that help has been "too little, too late."

"The next farm bill will explore new territory in an effort to strengthen the agricultural sector through innovative conservation incentives and income stability programs," Stallman said. "There are already plans to expand risk management opportunities for producers of more commodities, promote added incentives for value-added products, and explore many other provisions that would include more producers of more commodities."

Stallman, who serves as a member of the national Commission on 21st Century Production Agriculture—a group that is weighing policy ideas to assist American agriculture in the new century—said a "one-size-fits-all" farm policy no longer works. The commission's report to Congress and the president is due at the end of January.

"That report, and the policies delegates adopt here, will kick-start federal farm policy discussions," Stallman predicted."House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-Texas) has made it clear that he wants to hear specific proposals, with budget implications, impact on other crops and trade, and other supporting facts. Fuzzy rhetoric will not be welcome. Guided by your policies, AFBF will have the proposals that meet the chairman's criteria but, more important, those that will provide what farm and ranch families so desperately crave—stability through profitability."

Stallman said Farm Bureau will continue to push for trade reform throughout the world, based on goals of eliminating all export subsidies,
reducing tariffs and removing bogus health and food safety claims. He also said Farm Bureau will work with the Bush administration to ensure that regulations issued during the last days of the Clinton administration, dealing with agriculture and water quality, diesel fuel and workplace restrictions, will be reviewed regarding their fairness and legality.