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September 15, 2006
Ag Secretary continues farm bill reform talks
In remarks to the Cato Institute, a conservative think tank, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns reiterated
his frequent argument that dramatic reforms are needed in the next farm bill. The current farm bill is both
inequitable and subject to legal challenges in the World Trade Organization, Johanns reportedly said.
Johanns said 60 percent of all farmers are essentially left out of the farm program support because they do not raise a program crop such as soybeans, rice, cotton, corn or wheat.
That means, "we have one group that gets the lion's share of subsidies, and another group equal in production value that receives virtually nothing," he said.
Unless the 2007 farm bill is substantially different from the one passed in 2002, Johanns said the legislation is
ripe to be torn apart piece by piece through legal challenges from other WTO countries.
Source: AFBF; Executive Newswatch; Sept. 1, 2006
Statistics show farm sector facing labor squeeze
New information released by the Agriculture Department's National Agricultural Statistics Service pegs the number
of hired workers on U.S. farms during the first quarter of 2006 at 718,000, a decrease of 3.75 percent from one year ago.
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation's Economic Analysis Team, the new statistics provide evidence that the farm sector is facing a labor squeeze that would be magnified further by the possible future loss of migrant workers.
The decline was most pronounced in California where agriculture is particularly dependent on hired labor, but it also included other key agricultural production areas, according to AFBF.
The national average wage paid to farm workers is at an all-time high, $9.79 per hour, according to the report.
That rate is up nearly 5 percent from one year ago and up 18 percent from 2001. Wage increases for hired farm workers
were reported in every region of the country where NASS collects data.
Source: AFBF; Executive Newswatch; Aug. 2, 2006
Net farm income decrease predicted for 2006
The Agriculture Department issued a report recently predicting net farm income will decrease 26 percent this year
as fuel and fertilizer costs rise, drought reduces production and government payments fall.
USDA estimates net income at $54.4 billion, down from $73.8 billion last year and the record of $85.4 billion in 2004. Cash expenses are forecast to rise 4.8 percent to $236.8 billion, the highest ever, as gross sales fall 1.5 percent to $235.3 billion from a record $238.9 billion.
Net cash farm income, which does not include costs such as depreciation and changes in the value of inventories,
will be an estimated $63.2 billion this year, down 22 percent from $81.2 billion last year and down from a record
$81.5 billion in 2004. The average over the past decade is $64 billion, according to USDA.
Source: AFBF; Executive Newswatch; Sept. 1, 2006
Online image gallery helps farmers identify plants
When trying to identify plants, landowners and managers in Texas and Oklahoma can rely on the Noble
Foundation's online Plant Image Gallery at www.noble.org/imagegallery.
Source: AFBF; Policy Links; Sept. 5, 2006
