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August 17, 1999
Minge: Crisis in agriculture rivals that of the '20sBy GUY PRIEL Journal Staff Writer N. MANKATO -- Dozens of elected officials and interested citizens attended a public forum on Monday to hear proposals and give opinions about the farm crisis. "I stand here today on a grave occasion," U.S. Representative David Minge (DFL-Minn.) said. "All of us know agriculture is suffering through a severe crisis." Minge sponsored a forum at South Central Technical College in an attempt to roll out a comprehensive agriculture policy improvement package and to get input on what needs to be included in the final proposal. "We would have to go back to the economic crisis of the 1920s to find anything that would rival what the agricultural economy is facing today," he said. "There are constant weather problems and decreasing prices facing those in the business and leaving many wondering how we can continue with an agricultural economy with low prices." Any farmer in the state knows what it is like to face decreasing corn prices, decreasing pork prices and decreasing prices for dairy products, especially milk, which has not suffered as much as corn, he said. "It is not the result of foreign trade that is giving us problems with agriculture, it is a domestic problem," he said. "Open markets brought about by free trade are balkanizing the agriculture industry." The traditional farming programs that have kept the American farmer competitive in the past have been dismantled in the past few years with the Freedom to Farm Bill, he said. "American agriculture is stressed to the breaking point," Minge said. "But one good thing that has come out of all of this is that there is more agreement between individuals on the steps needed to solve the problem." There is a doom in the American agriculture economy around the traditional idea of agriculture, which is food production, said University of Minnesota Economist Stanley C. Stevens, who accompanied Minge. "There is a tremendous volatility created in the United States corn production by China and Argentina," he said. "The promise will come because of the increase in corn for usage in the areas of feed and industry. We need to look more heavily at ethanol usage." There has been a structural shift to soybean production, which shows promise for the United States, because other countries have slowed their production of soybeans, he said. "The real winners in all this will be those who are quick to see what is happening," he said. The basic premise that needs to be approached is to determine what is going on in the American economy and how that affects farming, and the main thing that is going on is contrast, Minge said. The United States is in a decade of growth, with low unemployment levels and a tremendous housing boom, he said. "The contrast with the rest of the economy and agriculture is overwhelming," he said. "We have an abundant and cheap food supply, yet our farms are going under. We are the victims of economic theft in agriculture and we can not afford these differences any longer." Because rural America cannot exist in its present form without government involvement and assistance, Minge has developed a list of proposals that need to be considered in any agriculture bill. The proposals include: providing federal assistance directly to active producers in a non-trade distorting manner; provide for the transfer of land and closely held small businesses from one generation to the next; use of the federal tax code in a manner that results in agri-business corporations including production agriculture in their business profitability; and significantly increasing the funding and support for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural development programs. Other proposals include: having farmers take a greater leadership role in improving water quality and finding ways to manage soil and water; equalize marketing loan rates; extend the terms of marketing loans; authorize the purchase of surplus commodities for humanitarian and industrial uses; establish a farm revenue assurance program; explore legislative issues to see what the impediments are for farmers to work together; increase access to barge and rail transportation; form alliances between farmers; and establish more farmer-retained ownership opportunities. The proposals came following a meeting with leaders and farmers on April 10 in Hutchinson. "Unless we return price stability back to agriculture, the average age of farmers will be 65 years old and the farm economy will be in worse trouble," Minge said. The Disaster Package that will be debated when Congress returns from recess following the Labor Day Holiday provides an opportunity for the government to make changes in existing agriculture policy, he said. "We need to seize the opportunities we have and see the improvements we can make," he said. "Then we can get the commitment to support this package." Getting the package approved will take a concerted effort and the input provided by farmers and officials during the visit will be taken into consideration before the final package is prepared, he said. "This is a broad analysis of what's going on and we have identified the responses," Minge said. "I can take these recommendations and draft them into bill form as part of the emergency agriculture legislation and the farm legislation being considered for the year 2000." The list provided is not exhaustive by any means, because many things can still be added to the package from other sides, but this a beginning, he said. "We need to maintain our determination to save agriculture," he said. "We can't give up."
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