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California Association of Wheat Growers (CAWG)

March 13, 2006

CAWG WASHINGTON, DC TRIP A SUCCESS. CAWG President Larry Hunn, Treasurer Ian Anderson, and Executive Director Janice Cooper spent four days in Washington meeting with Members of Congress and their staff, both California Senate offices, House Agriculture Committee staff, Farm Services Agency, Risk Management Agency, and the Governor’s Washington Office. In each meeting, we discussed our successes of last year and the challenges facing California wheat growers in the future. We heard from the experts regarding possible budget cuts, shape of the emerging Farm Bill, possible solutions to the immigration issue, and many other issues of concern. These annual visits enable CAWG to visit with old friends and spend time with new offices in an effort to build new relationships. We met with staff from several urban districts whose members had expressed interest in finding common ground in the new farm bill. At USDA, we received a detailed briefing on the process used to set the Posted County Price and discussed needed changes to crop insurance programs.

FOOD AID WORKING GROUP VISITS KEY OFFICES. California Wheat Commission Executive Director Bonnie Fernandez chairs the national committee charged with explaining the importance of food aid to policy makers. She led a group of state administrators on visits to Capitol Hill, USDA, Department of State, and private voluntary organizations. She provided the following report:

"This was opportunity for the US Wheat Food Aid Working Group to show that they are actively engaged in “Keeping the Food in Food Aid” and are concerned that the WTO is debating rules that would limit the ability for the US to supply US food for humanitarian purposes. By having members from the states traveling to Washington DC, we were hoping to support the current activities of the national staff.

All meeting contacts were given the Food Aid Talking Points (amended by USW, WETEC and NAWG in January 2006) and a document showing four country donor’s share of world food aid (reflecting the decrease in the EU’s portion once they changed to cash donations). These documents were very well received.

The President’s FY 2007 budget request of 1.2 billion dollars for PL 480 Title II would allow up to 25 percent of the amount to be used for local or regional cash purchases in for food security crisis.  Where appropriate, the Group supplied a document that pointed out the fact that US AID currently has the authority to use cash for emergency situations."

ENERGY ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE BILL INTRODUCED IN SENATE. Senators Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) introduced a bill this week that would provide emergency assistance for agricultural losses in the 2005 crop year.

The bill, called the Emergency Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2006, would provide a payment rate of 50 percent of the established price of the crop if a farmer has a loss of at least 35 percent. Unlike in other disaster programs, the 95 percent crop value cap and deduction for crop insurance indemnities have been removed from this bill.

The bill would also provide a payment of 30 percent of the direct payment for those enrolled in the farm program for the 2005 crop as well as USDA grants to states to provide agricultural market and economic assistance, including direct payments. Assistance under this title is designed to assist farmers and ranchers throughout the nation who experience rapidly escalating energy and production input costs during the 2005 production year. 

The program was scored by the Congressional Budget Office at $3.566 billion. This is the estimated cost of the disaster/economic relief assistance program.

Dorgan said in a press release that he would try to attach the legislation to the Senate version of an emergency supplemental bill for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and hurricane recovery. Both senators said the bill would help U.S. farmers and ranchers who have faced myriad of problems this year from fires to floods.

NO AG CUTS IN SENATE-PASSED BUDGET RESOLUTION. The Senate passed a FY2007 budget resolution worth $2.8 trillion Thursday – a resolution that did not include cuts in the agriculture portion of the pie. The resolution also included approval of a provision that would allow for drilling the Alaskan Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

House members are expected to take up their version of the budget – mostly likely a tighter measure than its counterpart in the Senate - in April.

LETTERS TO AG APPROPRIATORS OUTLINE RESEARCH PRIORITIES. NAWG CEO Daren Coppock sent letters this week to House and Senate ag appropriators outlining research goals for wheat in FY 2007.

Coppock’s letter described the need for technology and its associated research. Attached to the letter was a copy of the NAWG and National Wheat Improvement Committee’s FY2007 legislative priorities.

Some priorities included were:

• the continuation of existing USDA funding for small grains research;
• budget requests for research aimed at reducing vulnerability to cereal rust and for wheat quality enhancement, a small grains germplasm enhancement program and two regional, small-grains molecular genotyping labs;
• various building and facility needs; and
• restoring full funding for the Bureau of Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade  (EGAT).

 A full copy of the FY 2007 NAWG/NWIC priorities can be found at:

http://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/wheat/reports/NWIC/FY07_Legislative_book_Final.pdF

CAWG officers also shared this information with members of Congress and staff during last week’s visit.

NEXT CAWG MEETING SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 5^TH IN SACRAMENTO. ALL MEMBERS ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND.