12/27/05 No emergency energy aid this year

Farm and Ranch December 27 2005 The Defense spending bill the U.S. Senate approved last week contained 29 billion dollars in disaster relief for hurricane related damage but no crop disaster assistance or emergency energy aid for farmers and ranchers. And Sherman Reese, president of the National Association of Wheat Growers, says that Defense spending bill was the last chance for this year. Reese: "Not to say that there is no hope at all. There may be an opportunity next year for energy bill legislation we might be able to attach a relief package too. At this point that is all problematical. We were really counting on the Senators who had promised relief, Chambliss and Cochran, to carry the day. In the end they were out maneuvered and out voted. So in the end we are left with nothing." And Reese says that is frustrating since NAWG has worked tirelessly over the past three months to get producers relief for high fuel and fertilizer costs. Reese: "We did put an awful lot of time, effort and energy. We had officers in town lobbying every week basically from the 1st of October until now to push that process along. We had several allies. So we had support. But not enough." At least in the Budget Reconciliation bill Congress passed, while there were cuts in ag spending, direct payments were not reduced. There were reductions in advance counter cyclical payments but producers will eventually still get the full amount they are entitled too. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.