Federal Funds Urged for Valley Programs: Speakers: Dairy, Ag Need Farm Bill’s Help
By John Holland, The Modesto Bee, Calif.
Feb. 21–Well-placed federal money could help San Joaquin Valley farmers provide food while caring for the land, speakers told two congressmen Tuesday.
About 100 people turned out at the Stanislaus County Agricultural Center for a meeting organized by Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, who will have a key role in crafting the next farm bill.
Speakers said the bill, funding federal farm and nutrition programs through 2012, should increase funding for conservation, research, export promotion and other programs that benefit the valley.
“Farmers and ranchers are great stewards of the land,” said Diana Westmoreland Pedroza, executive director of the Merced County Farm Bureau. “Active land management is most beneficial for our landscapes.”
Past farm bills mainly have been about price supports for growers of corn, wheat, soybeans, rice and cotton, mostly in the Midwest and South.
California’s fruits, nuts and vegetables would get increased attention under farm bill proposals from lawmakers, farm and environmental groups, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Cardoza is the chairman of a House subcommittee that deals with these crops. He conducted the meeting with Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, and A.G. Kawamura, secretary of food and agriculture for Gov. Schwarzenegger.
Paul Wenger, a Modesto-area almond and walnut farmer, urged expansion of efforts to reduce trade barriers, prevent pest outbreaks and assure safe food.
Wenger, first vice president of the California Farm Bureau Federation, noted severe losses to spinach growers after last year’s outbreak of E. coli bacteria.
“We all understand that America has the safest food supply in the world, but more science is needed to build on our track record,” he said.
John Rossi, a Manteca-area hay broker, said the farm bill should boost federal price supports for milk. These supports influence the complex formula used by California regulators to set minimum prices.
Dairy farmers lost an average of $500 per cow last year because of low milk prices and high production costs, Rossi said.
“Fortunately, we came off a good year (in 2005), but this one going in looks very bleak,” he said.
Dairy leaders called for an increase in a cost-sharing program for projects that reduce air and water pollution. They also urged research on making ethanol from sources other than corn, a dairy feed that has shot up in price.
Cindy Lashbrook, an organic farmer near Livingston, urged a boost in conservation programs and in efforts to get people to eat healthy food.
“We feel that these are some of the best tools to support family-scale farming and environmental stewardship,” she said.
The bill should help small and midsize farmers while improving farmworker conditions and increasing food stamp enrollment, said Louise Johnson of Modesto, a member of the environmental justice committee for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockton.
“One hundred ninety-five of the 200 poorest counties in the United States are rural,” she said. “It’s very important to strengthen and sustain our rural community.”
To comment, click on the link with this story at www.modbee.com.
Bee staff writer John Holland can be reached at jholland@modbee.com or 578-2385.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Modesto Bee, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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