Thread: Texas Senator: Working On Immediate Aid For State's Farmers

Texas Senator: Working On Immediate Aid For State's Farmers



LUBBOCK, Texas (AP)--U.S. Sen. Kay said Wednesday she is working to get immediate relief to Texas farmers and ranchers dealing with drought and the aftermath of wildfires.


But Hutchison, appearing at a board meeting for the Plains Cotton Growers, stopped short of expressing support for a permanent fund to deal with disasters, which ranchers and farmers have said they don't want handled piecemeal.

"I think we should have the ability to plan for the disasters that come, to the extent that we can, but mainly I just want to make sure when they happen, we can cover them," she said before addressing the group of about 100 producers. "We just have to know that there are going to be emergencies that will affect our livestock and our crops and deal with each one as they come."

Roger Haldenby, spokesman for the Plains Cotton Growers, said relief tailored for specific disasters isn't what producers want.

"We definitely want to get away from the ad hoc approach," said Haldenby, whose group serves a 41-county region that makes up the world's largest contiguous cotton patch.

Hutchison, R-Texas, said she supports extending the current farm bill, a five-year measure that expires in 2007. Lawmakers are beginning to plan federal policy for it now. Agricultural committees in the U.S. House and Senate have traveled the country this year to gather input from farmers and ranchers.

Last month, Texas agriculture groups told a U.S. Senate panel in San Angelo that they want the next farm bill to include disaster relief for farmers and ranchers reeling from billions of dollars lost to the drought.

The nation's No. 2 agriculture state is suffering from the worst drought losses ever -- an estimated $2.6 billion in crop losses and $1.5 billion to the livestock industry. More than $1 billion of the current crop losses come from cotton, Texas' top cash crop.

In March, wildfires in the Panhandle scorched hundreds of thousands of acres and killed 12 people and scores of livestock.

"We've got to deal with the drought as well as the wildfires that have happened in Texas," Hutchison said Wednesday.

Hutchison also said she would like to craft the next farm bill with better access to some foreign markets, but that the task will be difficult.

While U.S. agricultural commodities have support programs that are out in the open, those in some foreign countries remain largely hidden. This dynamic, officials said, keeps American farmers from selling U.S.-grown cotton items to foreign consumers, a detriment to merchants of cotton products.

"It is going to take a long time for us to have a level playing field where we don't have subsidized competitors," Hutchison said. "We will continue to fight that, but I have to tell you something honestly, it's going to be a fight."

Hutchison also touched on immigration reform, particularly a guest worker program that she said would have a direct impact on agriculture.

The U.S. Senate passed legislation that included a guest worker provision, but the House resisted the plan, sticking instead with its bill to treat illegal immigrants as felons. Congress recently passed a border security measure that would build 700 miles of fences along the U.S.-Mexico border

"We're already seeing problems in the farm communities," Hutchison told the group. "We're seeing that some agricultural products aren't going to be picked or harvested this year. We need to settle this issue.".


Source: Dow Jones Newswire

http://www.cattlenetwork.com/content.as ... ntid=75765

This article sort of contradicts itself. Sen. Hutchinson states the farmers are suffering from worker shortages, yet she is attempting gather aid for the farmers because most of their crops dried up in the drought.

Why would the farmers need anywhere near the normal load of workers if the drought destroyed most of the crops? Oh, that's right, it doesn't matter how many they need or use, it's all about paying the ones they do use as little as possible (with no benefits).

Let's call it the way it is, workers are not really the issue, it's maximizing profits. The sooner we start telling the truth, the sooner we can resolve the problem. Heck, I'm willing to pay a little more at the grocery store in order to support higher wages for American workers if necessary.