Washington
State Farm Bureau News
Sept.
10, 2001 No. 126
NEARLY TWO-THIRDS OF LAST YEAR’S $27 BILLION IN
FEDERAL FARM AID WENT
to just 10 percent of the nation’s farm owners, including
several multimillion corporations and government agencies. (AP/The
Olympian, Sept. 10) At least 20 Fortune 500 companies and more
1,200 universities and government-run farms, including state
prisons, received federal assistance, as well as real estate
developers and absentee landowners. Since federal rules base
subsidies on acreage, rather than financial need, large operations
receive most of the money. The American Farm Bureau Federation
noted that large farms also take greater risks and have greater
expenses. Federal aid made up nearly half of the total farm income
nationwide last year.
WASHINGTON RECEIVED $413 MILLION IN FEDERAL FARM AID
LAST YEAR — 22ND among all states. (AP/The
Olympian, Sept. 10) Most of the farm aid in Washington went to
wheat and barley growers, including more than $80 million in
Whitman County, $57 million in Lincoln County, $44 million in
Adams County, and $40 million in Walla Walla County. But “farm
subsidies cover a relatively small portion of the state’s $5
billion agriculture economy” and “unlike in many states, most
of the farm subsidies in Washington go to actual farmers, rather
than large corporations or institutions.” Jon Newkirk, a
Washington State University extension agent, noted that most of
the farms in Washington “are owned by farm families and have
been for several generations.”
AN ONGOING DISPUTE BETWEEN THE NATIONAL MARINE
FISHERIES SERVICE AND the Bureau of Reclamation is delaying
efforts to repair Keechelus Dam, raising the possibility that the
reservoir’s capacity will continue to dwindle. (Tri-City
Herald, Sept. 10) The Bureau of Reclamation, which operates
the Yakima Irrigation Project, wants to repair soft spots in the
dam left by rotting timbers to ensure public safety, while the
fisheries service wants to rebuild the dam to include fish-passage
for steelhead and bull trout, which are protected under the
Endangered Species Act. The dispute “could be enough to prevent
the project from moving forward for years.” The reservoir’s
capacity was reduced by 17,000 acre-feet after the soft spots were
detected in 1998.
BECAUSE OF CONTINUING DROUGHT CONDITIONS, 2002 WINTER
WHEAT MAY NOT qualify as an irrigated crop for insurance purposes,
according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA’s Risk
Management Agency said growers must have adequate water, or the
reasonable expectation of adequate water, when they plant their
2002 crop. Farmers have until Sept. 30 to change their crop
insurance coverage for 2002 wheat.
SIX NEW STUDIES, TO BE PUBLISHED THIS WEEK BY THE
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF Sciences, found that Bt corn poses a
“negligible” risk to monarch butterflies. (New York Times,
Sept. 8) Publication of the new studies was moved up several weeks
because the Environmental Protection Agency is to renew permits
for the biotech corn on Sept. 30. An earlier study suggested
eating pollen from Bt corn could harm monarch caterpillars, which
became a rallying cry for anti-biotech activists. But recent
research suggests the early study was flawed. About 19 percent of
the corn and 35 percent of the cotton planted in the United States
last year contained the Bt gene, which enable the crops to produce
their own natural pesticide.
THE WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY AG RESEARCH CENTER
WILL ELIMINATE 16 positions for the 2001-2002 school year,
according to director Ralph Cavalieri. (Spokesman-Review,
Sept. 6) Positions are being cut in the areas of agricultural
economics, animal science, crop and soil sciences and
horticulture. The university, however, is adding new positions in
the areas of plant and animal biotechnology.
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2001 Washington Farm Bureau. NewsWatch is a daily update on news
of interest to agriculture. Contact Dean Boyer, director of public
relations, 1-800-331-3276 or dboyer@wsfb.com,
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