Search

The article focuses on the questions raised by the U.S. House Agriculture General Farm Commodities Subcommittee on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) farm income estimates. The Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Moran, Republican from Kansas, said USDA analyses showing farm income projections for 2005 still at near-record levels do not accurately portray the economic conditions being felt in the heart of farm country. Moran and other members of the subcommittee told USDA Chief Economist Keith Collins that increased energy and fertilizer costs and declining commodity prices are putting a squeeze on farmers' incomes.

The article reports that two U.S. House Agriculture Committee leaders have introduced legislation to allow more small farmers to qualify for farm programs. The measure, authored by House Agriculture General Farm Commodities Subcommittee Chairman Bob Etheridge and ranking member Jerry Moran, clarifies language in the 2008 farm bill that ends some subsidies to farmers with only 10 acres of land or less.

The article reports that U.S. House Agriculture General Farm Commodities Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Moran, said today that he told all sides negotiating the Doha round trade talks in Geneva that the United States' proposal to cut farm subsidies could not pass Congress without concessions in market access from the European Union and others. Speaking from Geneva, Moran also said he does not believe negotiators will meet the April 30 deadline for a detailed agreement. Moran and Representative Jo Ann Emerson predicted that World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Pascal Lamy would not offer his own proposal to try to force the 140 WTO members to come to an agreement.

The article reports that U.S. House Agriculture General Farm Commodities Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Moran and Jo Ann Emerson, a member of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, have left for Geneva, Switzerland to check on the negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha round agricultural talks. A Geneva-based source close to the talks said Crawford Falconer, the New Zealand ambassador to the WTO who chairs the trade talks, told the agriculture negotiators that if they cannot reach agreement on "key issues such as numbers for formulas," those issues will be handled by the higher level WTO Trade Negotiations Committee and the heads of delegations.

The article reports that the U.S. Trade Representative Robert Portman and Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns left for London for negotiations on the World Trade Organization Doha round of trade talks. The three key members of the House Agriculture Committee suggested the Doha talks are in serious trouble. Agriculture General Farm Commodities Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Moran, said members of Congress will know with time whether there will be a Doha round deal before they begin writing a farm bill in 2007.