The Associated Press State & Local Wire / March 15, 2001, Thursday / By JOSH FUNK, Associated Press Writer
NORFOLK, Neb. -- U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman reiterated the Bush Administration's commitment to expanded trade, but would not talk about specifics when discussing a new farm bill.
Most of the time during her first visit to Nebraska, Veneman sat and listened to the concerns of Nebraska farmers. She attended one of three town hall meetings that Gov. Mike Johanns scheduled Thursday for farmers to voice their opinions about U.S. farm policy.
"I'm not going to address any specific issues that might be in the farm bill," Veneman told the farmers. "The administration doesn't make the farm bill. Congress does."
What Veneman did offer was a brief outline of President Bush's budget priorities and a receptive ear. Veneman took notes during the farmer's comments.
The long-term future of the national pork checkoff is uncertain, Veneman said, but legal questions about last fall's referendum where producers voted to cancel the program prompted its continuation.
There was not enough time for everyone who wanted to speak in the crowd of about 300 to address Veneman, so many delivered letters instead.
The town hall meeting had been scheduled for late Thursday morning, with Veneman planned to speak to the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce at a noon luncheon. However, the town hall meeting and the luncheon speech in Norfolk were combined when Veneman and Johanns were unable to fly out of Grand Island because a door would not latch on a state airplane.
Veneman gave a brief speech earlier in the morning in Grand Island at the Governor's Futures Conference on small-town revitalization. She talked more at the conference about President Bush's budget plans than about farming and ranching. She hyped up Bush's push to elimination the estate taxes before a crowed there of 150 people.
In Norfolk, farmers raised concerns about free trade, low prices and the uncertain future of the family farm.
Clearwater farmer Dennis Sanne said the forum drew such a large crowd because the topic strikes a nerve. He said the 1996 Freedom to Farm Act, which removed many government subsidies, didn't have a chance to work because government sanctions closed some markets and the Asian financial crisis eliminated others.
"The key to a successful market approach is complete access to foreign markets," Sanne said. "It's a sad story when America's biggest industry won't work without a subsidy."
The challenge in rewriting the federal farm bill is that not everyone in agriculture agrees on what the government should do. Those differing viewpoints were evident among Nebraska farmers, but most said they simply want to make a living off their land.
"If it sounds like I speak personally, that's because I take my family farm very personally," said Paul Steuder, who farms with his wife and eight children near West Point.
Steuder asked whether the U.S. attorney general's antitrust division had been doing their job while mergers went unchecked in agricultural businesses.
Several people in the crowd asked Veneman to allow farmers to work with the state to address environmental and food quality concerns.
"One of the most important selling points for us is food safety," said Paul Peters, who is a pork producer near Pender.
He and others commended Veneman for shutting off livestock imports from the European Union to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.
For her part, Veneman promised to seek the advice of those that will be affected by her department's policies and to work with the states.
"We recognize in Washington you have to have local input and solutions," Veneman said. "You can't just dictate.":
