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January 18, 2002

Texas pushes issues in
AFBF annual debate

By Mike Barnett
Editor

Texas agricultural producers' voices were heard loud and clear as the Texas Farm Bureau delegation to the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in Reno, Nev., successfully gained favor for several resolutions important to farmers and ranchers in the Lone Star State.

"Our delegation did a terrific job in promoting those issues important to Texas and getting them into policy," TFB President Donald Patman said following the convention. "That's our duty and obligation and our delegates fulfilled that well."

Karnal bunt

Texas, in cooperation with the Kansas Farm Bureau, was instrumental in changing AFBF policy on Karnal bunt, a wheat disease that has hurt Rolling Plains wheat producers and the regional economy there to the tune of $28 million (Cooperative Extension Service estimates). Specifically, the newly adopted language calls for Karnal bunt to be handled as a quality issue at the earliest possible date.

Larry Pratt, a TFB delegate and a wheat producer from Young County, one of the affected areas in Texas, said this policy change will help the industry move away from the "zero tolerance" provisions now in effect. That "zero tolerance" severely limits export opportunities for Karnal bunt infected wheat.

"What this will help to do is keep us from being overregulated and quarantined and handle Karnal bunt as an issue that is market driven more than it is driven by regulatory intervention in our wheat growing business," Pratt said. "If it becomes a quality issue then we would handle it just like we would any other smut or any other kind of natural phenomenon that would happen in the wheat or any crop."

According to Pratt, this policy change will allow AFBF to work with APHIS' intent to change looking at Karnal bunt as a quality issue rather than a regulatory issue.

"What this amendment actually allows us to do is it gives us the ammunition to use our lobbying powers, to go right in concert with them and work it out so that every government agency we're involved with is working on the same page," Pratt said.

Crop insurance

Texas language was also adopted by national delegates in a number of provisions dealing with risk management and crop insurance.

McLennan County farmer Benny Steensen was successful in pushing a resolution that said T-yields should not be included in the years in which an area was under a disaster declaration when crop insurance is calculated.

"What this would do is keep your revenue guarantee up by protecting you from drought years or other weather disasters that would drop your T-yields," Steensen said.

Texas Farm Bureau State Director Steve Cochran was successful in pushing a resolution that would prohibit any government assisted insurance and/or revenue assurance programs for beef.

Cochran said Texas Farm Bureau delegates felt it would be hard to make an insurance program for beef cattle work, and posed several questions to that affect.

"How would you determine your loss?" he asked. "Would it be a weight loss on the calves at time of sale? Would you have a loss if you had a sterile bull in the pasture? Is it the number of calves that you wean at the end of the year?

"Another factor is, a crop is stationary. It can be inspected by an adjuster. But cattle are mobile. And it's a little harder to put your thumb on those cattle.

"It's not that beef cattle producers and Texas Farm Bureau are opposed to insurance. They're not. They're for a feed assistance program, for a disaster program, for crop insurance. They're not anti- any of these. But they are anti- an insurance program for beef cattle because they see no way to make it work."

Texas language was also included under crop insurance/risk management policy that supports a producer option in multi-peril crop insurance to allow collection of a harvest incentive or recalculation of appraised yields to a zero yield when yield values are below harvest cost.

In addition, Texas language was adopted supporting the establishment of criteria for and implementation of a certification process for a "grown in USA" labeling program. For animal products to receive this label, the animals must have been "born, raised and processed in the U.S.," the resolution read.

Also, a resolution introduced by Texas to support an amendment to the Packers and Stockyards Act that would include the ratite (Emu, Ostrich and Rhea) industry where applicable was adopted.

Farm policy

In other action, AFBF delegates reaffirmed support for a farm program that improves net farm income. They approved farm program policy stating "the next farm bill should continue to focus on a consistent, long-term market-oriented farm policy, that will improve net farm income, enhance the economic opportunity for farmers, preserve property rights and conserve the environment."

Aggressively reaffirming the organization's commitment to continued farmer and rancher income opportunities, the delegates approved a policy to "prohibit packer ownership of livestock" in the belief that such ownership stifles competitive pricing. The policy outlines a provision to exempt "cooperatives or entities owned by cooperatives and packers who slaughter less than 2 percent of total U.S. livestock slaughtered."

In other farm policy action, delegates approved language supporting a market-oriented dairy program that would include "a national counter-cyclical income assistance com-ponent...consistent with a worldwide fair and open trade policy." The body also reaffirmed its support of regional dairy compacts, including the expired Northeast Dairy Compact and the proposed Southern States Compact.

At the conclusion of the convention, delegates voted to increase membership dues to the American Farm Bureau Federation 50 cents per member per year starting in December 2003. A motion for a $1 per member per year increase to the American Farm Bureau Federation failed.

Also, AFBF President Bob Stallman, a Texas cattle and rice producer and former Texas Farm Bureau president, was re-elected to his second two-year term. Vice President Steve Appel, a Washington wheat and barley grower, was also elected to a second two-year term.