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August 2006

Grange President Steel Thanks President Bush for his Leadership in WTO Negotiations
Grange Supports Health Care Choice Act
U.S. Senate Offshore Production Compromise
National Grange Legislative Director Appointed to Committee
Legislative Round-Up

Grange President Steel Thanks President Bush for his Leadership in WTO Negotiations

National Grange President Bill Steel recently sent a thank you letter to President George Bush for his firm stance during the current round of WTO (World Trade Organization) negotiations known as the Doha Round, following the recent decision by the WTO member countries to suspend further negotiations. President Steel commended the Administration's commitment to assuring that any final WTO agreement must be favorable to America's family farmers and ranchers and would not sacrifice rural prosperity for the sake of international political benefits that may arise from completing the Doha Round in the current, difficult negotiating climate. The letter went on to praise U.S. Trade Representative Schwab and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Johanns who helped focus the attention of the nation and the world on the crushing problems of international trade restrictions on basic U.S. agricultural products.

Following the suspension of the Doha Round negotiations by the WTO member countries, the National Grange President Steel then urged President Bush to devise additional strategies to secure access to foreign markets for U.S. family farmers and ranchers. Specifically mentioned was consideration were:

1) Continued enthusiasm by the members of the Bush Administration to resume Doha negotiations if the circumstances show new willingness by our major trading partners to bargain in good faith. While some political observers believe that under current circumstances, renewal of broad Trade Promotion Authority by Congress is unlikely, those circumstances could easily change if a workable Doha WTO agreement meets the goals of the U.S.

2) Continued efforts to complete the 11 bilateral trade agreements currently pending as well as initiation of additional bilateral agreements. President Steel mentioned that bilateral agreements do not substitute for a successful completion of the Doha Round talks. However, he stated, a continued successful negotiation of these trade agreements shows our nation’s willingness to negotiate in good faith with nations of the developing world to devise mutually beneficial trade agreements. These agreements can also set the example for the larger Doha Round negotiations and isolate nations such as India, Brazil, Japan and the European Union who continue to negotiate on the premise that trade is a zero sum game that consists of unilateral "concessions" by developed nations, like the United States, to the economic advantage of "developing" nations.

3) Development of concrete proposals by the Bush Administration for the 2007 Farm Bill assuring that U.S. domestic farm programs are compliant with existing WTO agreements. America's family farmers and ranchers need assurances that market access provisions in existing WTO agreements will be fully available to them as they implement their production and business plans over the course of the next Farm Bill. Some farm organizations have urged delaying the consideration of the 2007 Farm Bill until after the successful completion of the Doha Round negotiations. In light of the suspension of the Doha talks, that strategy has proven unwise.

4) Reconsideration of existing dispute resolution mechanisms for future trade agreements. Increasingly, family farmers and ranchers are doubting the wisdom of the dispute resolution regimes that have been incorporated into multilateral trade agreements, such as WTO and major bilateral trade agreements, such as NAFTA. After more than a decade of experience with these regimes, it is apparent that several glaring problems are surfacing requiring additional negotiations to correct. It is important that the U.S. seek to champion responsible dispute resolution reform that brings greater accountability and greater discipline to nations that seek trade compensation in order not to hold farmers and ranchers all over the world hostage to arbitrary trade dispute decisions.

Grange Supports Health Care Choice Act

National Grange, along with approximately 50 other trade associations, wrote to Congressman J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House, Congressman John Boehner, Majority Leader, and Congressman Roy Blunt, Majority Whip expressing support for H.R. 2355, the “Health Care Choice Act.” This Act will increase competition, reduce regulation and red tape, create a national health insurance market, and provide consumers a choice to get affordable health insurance (thus reducing the number of uninsured Americans).

Rather than complying with 50 different state regulatory requirements, this bill will allow an insurance company to complete one process and sell insurance in all 50 states. Under the Health Care Choice Act, individuals will be able to shop nationwide for policies that would follow them wherever they go. Moreover, if individuals leave a job, or are in between jobs, they will be able to maintain health insurance when they need it most. By reducing the bureaucratic red tape, this bill will be empowering individuals to make the best choice for themselves and their families.

The Health Care Choice Act will help reduce the cost of health insurance an average of 12 percent by letting people compare insurance plans across the country and picking the policy that is right for them. By offering people choices in a nationwide health insurance market, it will reduce the cost of health insurance for Americans. If enacted, the new program would not cost government a dime. It doesn’t create a new federal bureaucracy. And, it gives uninsured Americans, who are currently priced out of the market, a choice to get affordable health insurance. The National Grange and other groups believe that creating a national market for health insurance is a vital step in ensuring that millions of Americans have access to affordable coverage.

U.S. Senate Offshore Production Compromise

National Grange and over 100 other agribusiness groups, known as the Agriculture Energy Alliance (AEA), sent a letter to the entire U. S. Senate expressing our support for legislation to increase energy production in the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico. Agriculture needs the additional supply in natural gas to help ease the pain of increased prices for fertilizer, electricity and other basic production inputs. The AEA urged the Senate to pass legislation that will significantly improve the natural gas supply in the United States.

The AEA is a broad based coalition of farm organizations and agribusinesses currently facing a crisis because of government policies that have increased demand for natural gas while at the same time restricting access to known sources of supply. AEA supports legislation that will provide an enhanced role for development of offshore energy resources leading to a more diverse portfolio and additional supplies of domestically produced natural gas.

National Grange Legislative Director Appointed to Committee

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner Michael Dunn recently appointed National Grange Legislative Director Leroy Watson to the Agriculture Advisory Committee of the CFTC. The purpose of the Committee is to report and make recommendations to the Commission regarding issues affecting agricultural producers, processors, lenders, and others interested in and affected by the efficient functioning of the agriculture commodities markets. The CFTC Agricultural Advisory Committee also serves as a channel for communications between the CFTC and the diverse agricultural and agriculture-related constituencies and organizations that are represented on the committee.

Watson's first meeting as a member of the CFTC Agricultural Advisory Committee was held on August 2nd at the CFTC headquarters in Washington DC. Topics of concern raised at the meeting included the role of institutional investors, such as hedge funds, mutual funds and private equity investors who are including "commodities" based investments derived from futures or options contracts for agricultural products as part of their diversified portfolios, and the impacts that these non-traditional "investors" may be having on the price discovery mechanism for underlying agricultural commodities. The advisory committee also heard presentations on the functioning of agriculture markets in determining accurate pricing in situations where either commodities, or their futures and options components, are lightly or thinly traded.

Watson commented, "I am pleased and honored to be appointed to the CFTC Agricultural Advisory committee. Accurate price discovery and confidence in the proper working of agricultural markets is critical to the risk management decisions of individual farmers and ranchers as well as to the effective working of federal farm programs. I am looking forward to working with the other members of the Advisory Committee to provide timely input to the Commission regarding issues affecting agricultural markets and family farmers."

Legislative Round-Up

Idaho State Grange takes Stand on Electricity Rates
By Dallas Cheney, President, Idaho State Grange

Affordable power rates are vital to the success of businesses, farmers and ratepayers throughout Idaho and the greater Northwest. Yet power rates across the Northwest have gone up by an average of 50 percent over the last five years. The Idaho State Grange believed it was time for lower power rates throughout the region and as a result joined the Northwest Coalition for Affordable Power’s $27 in ’07 campaign.

The Bonneville Power Administration, which provides nearly half of the electricity used in the Northwest, is currently working to determine its 2007 to 2009 power rates. Initially, it announced a recommended base power rate of about $30 per megawatt hour. Prior to the 2001 West Coast energy crisis, BPA’s average wholesale rates were less than $23 per megawatt hour. Over the past five years, BPA’s average power rate has been a record $31.54.

As a member of the Northwest Coalition for Affordable Power (www.27in07.org), they joined together with other businesses and organizations from across the NW to encourage BPA to set a rate target of $27 per megawatt hour – a 10% decrease from the rate BPA proposed.

NW ratepayers deserve stable and affordable power prices. Idaho State Grange, along with the NW Coalition for Affordable Power, are calling on BPA to make a long-term commitment to low wholesale power rates through efficiency and program cost savings. The fact is that some years BPA may be able to reach the target rate of $27 per megawatt hour because of heavy mountain snowpacks resulting in extra water runoff. Heavy snowpacks, however, are hit or miss, and ratepayers deserve stable electricity prices that don’t hinge on hopes of a high-water year.

Connecticut State Grange Explains Animal Identification Program
By Gordon Gibson, Legislative Director, Connecticut State Grange

The Animal Identification Program will permanently identify every farm animal in the United States with a unique number, somewhat similar to a Social Security number. The owner will then be required to maintain a record of where every animal has been throughout its life. If an animal contracts a contagious disease it will then be possible to identify and locate all the other animals it has come in contact with so the disease can be controlled as quickly as possible with the loss of the minimum number of animals.

Most dairy farmers now identify each cow as she comes through the milking parlor by scanning a bar code on her ear tag, similar to scanning your groceries at the store. Farmers who raise meat animals such as beef, pork and lamb also keep a record of each individual animal and identify them by either an ear tag number or a tattoo. The only difference the national animal identification program will make for these farmers is the numbers assigned to their cows. The national identification program does not cover poultry, but as the avian flu problem becomes more widespread in North America, it may be expanded to include birds.

Rep. Rob Simmons (R-CT) has received several letters and calls from farmers in eastern Connecticut opposing the national animal identification program, claiming it will result in a lot of burdensome and unnecessary paper work they will be required to complete. While in Washington for the National Grange Legislative Fly-In program in May, a Connecticut Grange Legislative Director Gordon Gibson met with aides to Rep. Simmons. Among other issues, Rep. Simons’ aides raised the issue of opposition to the animal identification program and asked for Grange policy on the matter. “It’s a great feeling to realize that Rep. Simmons’ office brought up the subject rather than the other way around,” said Gibson. “To me this means they recognize the Connecticut State Grange as a responsible source of reliable information. It also means our legislative program has moved a notch higher and gained a new level of respect,” stated the Connecticut Grange Legislative Director.

New Jersey Legislative Day Held June 15, 2006
By L. Claire Grissett, Legislative Director, New Jersey State Grange

The N J State Grange Legislative Department held a very successful Legislative Day on June 15th at the State Capitol Annex, in Trenton, the first held in many years. State President, Pete Pompper, greeted several Grange members from across the state. Ed Wengryn, from the NJ Farm Bureau gave a very enlightening presentation on several of the important bills now in session including Jersey Fresh, a statewide marketing campaign.

Lt. Col. Thomas Gilbert, who serves as Chief of Staff to Superintendent Fuentes of the New Jersey State Police, explained the primary goal of the police force is the delivery of effective, constitutionally compliant public safety services to each and every citizen of the state. The Grange was instrumental in the formation of the N J State Police.

Peri Nearon, from the Dept. of Health and Senior Services, Office of Women’s Health Issues gave and overview and the background regarding the status of N J Women’s Health. The top killers of women in NJ are heart disease, often overlooked in females, lung, breast, & colorectal cancer and stroke.

New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture, Charlie Kuperus, honored the group by dropping by and commending the Grange for hosting this Legislative Day event. He also thanked the Grange for working with the Department of Agriculture. His staff discussed the department’s legislative agenda including emergency preparedness in the event of an avian flu pandemic.

A Legislator reception/luncheon followed. All State legislators were invited to drop to discuss issues with the Grangers – on a one-to-one basis. The “hot-off-the-press” new N J Grange Policy Book, which lists all updated resolutions alphabetized by title, was presented to all in attendance. This policy book has been well received and is an important tool for the State. There were several displays with information for Grange programs and ideas for resolutions.

Following the days events there was a tour of the Capitol building. The tour office supplied each person in attendance with a “bag” containing the history of the Capitol today, the assignment seating of the legislators, as well as places of interest to visit in Trenton, etc.