John Block Reports from Washington

Sitting beside the Chairman ofthe House Ag Committee is a good

place to get the latest information of what the U.S. Congress may have in

mind for American agriculture. Chairman Bob Goodlatte was very direct in

speaking to our small luncheon group this week. Here is what he said:

(1) Acknowledging that the farm bill is not perfect, he still said a high priority for him and the Ag Committee is to protect the bill from those that would want to make major changes in it.

(2) He said that although we have Federal Crop Insurance which is suppose to provide insurance against crop failure, the Congress seems to always pass disaster aid in addition. Why do we do tis? My answer: because we always have.

(3) He was very pleased that the House passed the President's Healthy Forests Initiative which will make it easier to clean the dead wood out of the forest and minimize the terrible forest fires we had last summer. Now if the Senate just needs to pass the bill.

(4) He told us more work must be done in purging the food stamp roles of ineligible names. Just because dead people vote in Chicago does not mean they need food stamps.

(5) A huge concern and priority for the U.S. is trade. Still there was a lot of concern about a free trade agreement with Australia. Is there any way agriculture can benefit from such a deal? We'll see.

Minnesota Congressman Gil Gutknecht made the point that some times trade success or failure can depend on how you approach a market. Example: the ABC Shoe Company sends a guy to Africa to sell shoes. He calls back and says, "Get me out of here! Theldon't wear shoes here." Next year the shoe company sends another represeAtative. He calls back, "Send shoe samples. They all need shoes."

Finally, the Chairman said that the Country of Origin Labeling law is a nightmare and should be made voluntary. Until next week, I am John Block from Washington.