Wednesday, May 27, 1998

Glickman to fight entry of subsidized grain exports from Europe

By J.T Smith / Abilene Reporter-News

U.S. Ag Secretary Dan Glickman wants the European Commission to back off sending subsidized barley into the United States.

"It appears the European Commission (EC) thinks it's OK to help its farmers by sending highly subsidized barley into the United States at the expense of American farmers. Well it's not," Glickman said. "They can't expect our farmers to pay the price of their distorted farm policies."

To prevent this from happening again, Glickman has asked the EC to de-list the United States as a destination for its subsidized exports.

Glickman is clearly upset by the EC's dumping of subsidized grain here.

"So far, they have refused to act on my request," Glickman noted. "I have said on numerous occasions we won't sit by and watch the EC target our markets," Glickman said.

In fact, Glickman had top USDA officials work through the Memorial Day weekend in studying strategies for an appropriate response to the EC.

Glickman said he will likely announce those actions by the end of this week.

"These events underscore why the World Trade Organization (WTO) members must eliminate trade distorting export subsidies during the agriculture trade negotiations next year -- as President Clinton and I stressed at last week's WTO meeting in Geneva," Glickman said.

Stenholm foils House effort to kill ag research bill

U.S. Rep. Charlie Stenholm and like-minded members from farm states have successfully defeated a measure that would have destroyed legislation that funds agricultural research, crop insurance, rural development and nutrition assistance.

In a bipartisan rebuke to House leadership, Stenholm successfully led the effort to kill a parliamentary procedure which would have broken apart the Senate and House version of the Agricultural Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the legislation by a vote of 92-8.

Stenholm said that while House leadership attempted to break apart the House and Senate coalition, the vote showed an overwhelming bipartisan majority of Congress wanted to pass the legislation without procedural gimmicks or delaying tactics.

As a result of Stenholm's effort, some 191 Democrats and 98 Republicans rejected the House leadership's efforts to kill the agriculture bill.

Stenholm's position was supported by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Cotton Council, Crop Insurance Agents of America, American Farm Bureau Federation and the Independent Bankers Association, along with numerous religious organizations.

The agriculture bill is funded by a $1.2 billion reduction in federal spending for food stamps.

"For the first time in my legislative life, we have nutrition money being reprogrammed for production agriculture with the support of the nutrition community and the agriculture community," Stenholm said.

With the return of Congress from the Memorial Day weekend recess, Stenholm is urging the leadership to reconsider the ag measure.

Beef forage tour slated

The Comanche County Beef Forage Tour is June 2.

Registration is 8-8:30 a.m. at the Comanche High School parking lot. The tour will finish between 11:30 a.m. and noon.

Both weed control and brush control will be covered in three stops. Those making all the tour can earn two continuing education units (CEUs).

To preregister for the tour, please call the Extension Service office in Comanche at (915) 356-2539; or FAX (915) 356-3710.

Eastland Auction Co. opens June 2

Eastland Auction Co. will open for its weekly cattle sale at noon Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the hog buying station will open Monday and will accept hogs each Monday beginning at 7 a.m.

Cattlemen now have two days per week to market their cattle in Eastland County businesses -- on Tuesdays at Eastland Auction Co. and Thursdays at Ranger Livestock Co.

For consignment information, you may call David Coan at (254) 629-1194 (home); (254) 653-7227 (mobile); or Thomas Seay (254) 734-2978 (home). Or call Eastland Auction Co. at (254) 629-3200 or Ranger Auction Co. at (254) 647-3247.