Barrett, Hon. Bill, a Representative in Congress from the State of Nebraska, prepared statement 1958 Bishop, Hon. Sanford D., Jr., a Representative in Congress from the State of Georgia, prepared statement 1959 Combest, Hon. Larry, a Representative in Congress from the State of Texas, opening statement 1957 Stenholm, Hon. Charles W., a Representative in Congress from the State of Texas, prepared statement 1958 WITNESSES Curtis, Mark, chairman, American Soybean Association 1963 Prepared statement 1998 Detrick, Terry, president, National Association of Wheat Growers 1962 Prepared statement 1996 Klein, Leland, president-elect, National Corn Growers Association 1967 Prepared statement 2002 Kubecka, William, vice-president, legislation, National Grain Sorghum Producers 1965 Prepared statement 1993 McLendon, Robert E., president, National Cotton Council 1960 Prepared statement Wiltse, Dan, president, National Barley Growers Association Prepared statement 2004 1969 2001 SUBMITTED MATERIAL U.S.A. Rice Federation U.S. Rice Producers Association 2010 2006 JULY 26, 2000 Bishop, Hon. Sanford D., Jr., a Representative in Congress from the State of Georgia, prepared statement 2016 Combest, Hon. Larry, a Representative in Congress from the State of Texas, opening statement 2015 Stabenow, Hon. Debbie, a Representative in Congress from the State of 2016 WITNESSES Brown, Blake, associate professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource 2021 Prepared statement 2055 Fore, Troy, Jr., executive director, American Beekeeping Federation 2027 Prepared statement 2067 Submitted material 2077 Pellett, Jim, vice chairman, Agriculture Policy Committee, National Cattlemen's Beef Association 2023 Prepared statement 2050 Page Roney, Jack, director of economics and policy analysis, American Sugar Alli ance 2019 Prepared statement 2056 Siddoway, Cindy, president, American Sheep Industry Association 2025 Prepared statement 2053 Submitted material 2074 Stenzel, Thomas, president and chief executive officer, United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association 2017 Prepared statement 2044 SUBMITTED MATERIAL Fincher, Doyle, president, Western Peanut Growers Association Moore, David, Western Growers Association 2077 2062 REVIEW OF FEDERAL FARM POLICY MONDAY, MAY 1, 2000 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The committee met, pursuant to call, at 8:30 a.m., Heidrick Agriculture History Center, Woodland, CA, Hon. Larry Combest (chairman of the committee) presiding. Present: Representatives Pombo, Moran, Thune, Gutknecht, Simpson, Ose, Stenholm, Condit, and Thompson of California. Staff present: William E. O'Conner, Jr., staff director; Lynn Gallagher, senior professional staff; Wanda Worsham, clerk; Keith Williams, Jason Vaillancourt, Brent Gattis, Danelle Farmer, and Anne Simmons. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. LARRY COMBEST, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS The CHAIRMAN. Good morning and welcome to this seventh of 10 field hearings that the House Agriculture Committee is holding in different regions of the country. I want to thank everyone here for coming to this important event. As you may know, we started this series of hearings in Lubbock, TX, in March; continued to Memphis, TN; Auburn, AL; Raleigh, NC; Westchester, OH; and Kutztown, PA. At those six hearings, more than 100 witnesses presented testimony and well over 1,500 people listened in, both in the audience and through the Internet. And I would remind our audience today that all of the hearings that we conduct are available, real time, through our Internet Web site. I think the time that we have spent on this endeavor has been profitable, both for members of the committee and for those in the audience. We are pleased to be here in Woodland today, and I think that our time will be well spent. I have the pleasure this morning of introducing the Members who are with us or who will be joining us. I am Larry Combest, I represent the High Plains of Texas; on my right is my good friend and neighbor, Charles Stenholm, who is also from west Texas; Richard Pombo represents San Joaquin County and part of Sacramento County; Gary Condit will be joining us, from Central Valley of California; Jerry Moran represents the western two-thirds of Kansas; John Thune represents South Dakota; Gil Gutknecht represents southeast Minnesota; Mike Simpson is from eastern Idaho; Doug Ose is from this area and is our host today; and Mike Thompson, who we spent some time with yesterday, is from Napa Valley. Today, we will hear from 19 people who have built their lives and careers around agriculture. In selecting this panel of witnesses, we sought to bring together folks here in Woodland that represent different types of agriculture found in this region who could bring a variety of thoughts on the issues facing agriculture today. It is my hope that everyone in this room can identify with at least one of our witnesses; and I would certainly encourage anyone who would wish to, to submit written testimony and that testimony will certainly be made a part of the record and will be weighed as heavily as any of the individuals who are verbally testifying. I don't want to speak long because we are here to listen to you; but I do want to say that I think that the members of this committee and the members, certainly, at this table, know that we have a problem in agriculture. What is more, we all fundamentally believe that it is in the best interest of this Nation to maintain and foster a diverse and strong agricultural sector. So the question we want to answer is, how do we best accomplish that goal? We want to find out what real producers think is working, and we want to find out what is not working with current Federal farm policy. We will be going, as we complete the remaining three hearings following today, and covered all regions of the country and asking the same questions to the producers that we visit with in those regions, hoping that we might find a consensus among producers about farm policy changes that need to be kept, that need to be changed. Again, I would like to thank all of you who have traveled and made your time available today to come and visit with us. I would like to introduce the Members further and have them make any comments that they might wish to make. Mr. Stenholm. Mr. STENHOLM. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. No statement this morning except to say that we are very glad to be here, look forward to hearing from the witnesses, and, hopefully, in the question and answer period, picking up a few points that we might be able to use for the year 2000 and then for the 2002 year when the current Farm Program and policy is scheduled to expire. With that, Mr. Chairman, I look forward to hearing from the wit nesses. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Pombo. Mr. POMBO. I have no opening statement, Mr. Chairman, I just want to thank you and the rest of the members of the committee for coming out to California, for all the work that is gone into the series of field hearings; and thank you very much. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Thompson. Mr. THOMPSON of California. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I have no statement other than to say thank you for being in California and thank you yesterday for being over in the Napa Valley. I look forward to hearing what the folks have to say. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Ose. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. DOUG OSE, A REPRESENTA- First of all, let me apologize for the less than stellar weather out here; we are not used to this kind of weather in May, it is kind of windy, a little cold, a little overcast. And we will try and do better if you come back. I am grateful that you are holding this committee hearing here in California's Third Congressional District. I appreciate your leadership in organizing these hearings across the country and your interest in listening to the concerns of agricultural producers. I want to welcome each of the Members joining us here today; their participation reflects their desire that the needs and concerns of California's farmers and ranchers are addressed in Washington. Again, I thank you all for coming. Thank you. California is one of the richest and most diverse States in the Nation. We have fabulous natural resources, golden beaches, beautiful forests, scenic mountains, and picturesque deserts. Most importantly, the Golden State has abundant prime agricultural soil. For over 50 years, we have been the home to the largest food and agriculture economy in the Nation, generating more than $26 billion a year in agricultural production. Over 350 crops are grown here, including more than half of the Nation's fruits, nuts, and vegetables. There is a joke in there somewhere. California also leads the Nation in dairy production and is the second largest cotton producer. In the third district, agriculture is clearly a top contributor to the economy. Roughly 90 percent of the State's rice is produced here and about half of the State's seed supply and prune supply comes from this district. In addition, the University of California at Davis campus is considered one of the top research universities for agriculture in the country. California's growers and researchers attribute their remarkable production levels to innovative and forward-thinking practices. The farmers and growers in my district face many challenges and have remained in the forefront on many issues including water supply and use, efficient use of inputs, international trade practices, seasonal labor supply, crop insurance, the Endangered Species Act, and the Food Quality Protection Act, to name a few. We are all aware of the consequences of poor market conditions and over-regulation by the Federal and State governments. We see the ripple effects on our rural communities and our families and friends every day. My goal here today is to hear directly from farmers and their business partners on how to assure that we produce the safest and most nutritious food supply and, at the same time, allow growers to be economically viable. Again, I want to thank the Members who joined us, and I want to thank the panelists who have taken time out of their schedules to be with us; we know this is a busy time of year for everybody. I look forward to hearing your testimony and responses. And finally, Mr. Chairman, I want to take a moment to thank the great city of Woodland and the Heidrick Ag Center for their courtesies in hosting this event and allowing us to use this unique facility. Thank you. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Thune. Mr. THUNE. No statement, Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Gutknecht. Mr. GUTKNECHT. I'll yield to the witnesses. |