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Release No. 0356.05 Contact: USDA Press Office (202) 720-4623

TRANSCRIPT OF ALABAMA FARM BILL FORUM WITH AGRICULTURE SECRETARY MIKE
JOHANNS AND MODERATORS KIM DAVIS AND LEE MCCOY OF SOUTHEAST AGNET AT
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY IN TUSKEGEE, ALABAMA ON AUGUST 25, 2005

MODERATOR: At this moment we want to go ahead and bring on Congressman
Artur Davis, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, and our president of
Tuskegee University, Dr. Benjamin Peyton. Please welcome them this
afternoon.

(Applause.)

It is indeed a pleasure for me to welcome you to this Farm Tour. And we
want to give each and every one of you an opportunity to ask the
Secretary some questions. The farm business is big business. Agriculture
is big business. And times indeed are changing. So we want you to give
your thoughts, your comments, your suggestions, to the Secretary as we
prepare to craft a new 2007 Farm Bill.

At this point, before we go further, we want to officially ask our Color
Guard from Booker T. Washington to please come forward.

(Pledge of Allegiance is recited.)

And now our National Anthem, sung by Ms. Logan Heim, a 15-year-old
student from Enterprise, Alabama. She is in the 10th grade, and also an
agri-science student and FFA member. Ms. Heim?

(National Anthem sung.)

Artur Davis, Congressman. (Applause.)

U.S. CONGRESSMAN ARTUR DAVIS (D-AL): Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
No, I\'m not related to Kim Davis. But let me thank all of you for
taking the time be here.

Mr. Secretary, let me for the third time today welcome you to the
wonderful state of Alabama. Booker T. Washington would be thrilled to
look in this room right now. He would be thrilled about the fact that no
conversation about farmers in America, no conversation about farm policy
in America, is complete without the voice of this great university being
included. He would also be thrilled about the fact that in this room we
see our common interests together. There are no \"black\" farmers here,
there are no \"white\" farmers here. There are \"farmers\" who are here.
And I think it would gladden his soul to see that.

I am very, very glad that we are at Tuskegee University for this
Listening Post; very glad that Tuskegee University is an important stop
along this path. And in my brief remarks today, I simply want to make a
couple of observations. The first one is some data that I came across
just yesterday.

If you look at the number of people serving in the Guard or the
Reserves, or the regular duty of our military, who are from the state of
Alabama, that number is greater than in the entire state of New York.
Mr. Secretary, we have approximately 4.3 million people in the state of
Alabama; New York has around 15 million. So we are more than doing our
part. And a lot of those young men and women who are serving our country
so valiantly and serving our state so nobly, when they come back home
they will come back home to family farms. This process is about
providing a future for them. This process is about making sure that when
that generation of Americans come back to our state that they can make a
living off of God\'s earth.

This is also about something else. I represent the 7th District of
Alabama, which as some of you know includes some of the poorest counties
in the United States of America. And, Mr. Secretary, what that means in
very literal terms is that in those five counties 36 to 40 percent of
the people live below the poverty line. If we care about rescuing those
people, if we care about reviving those communities, we will believe in
family farms again. We will believe in the importance of letting people
come back to the land. And if we truly understand what our purpose must
be about in these next several years as we think about farm policy,
we\'ll understand one other thing: \"persistent poverty\" is a term that
belongs in the back of an economics textbook. It doesn\'t belong on the
tables of families in Greene County, in Sumter County, in Perry County,
in Macon County and so on.

(Applause.)

We have to understand that this Farm Bill has to have just enough
vision, just enough ambition, to reach out and deal with those kinds of
problems, because farming in this country should never be a marginal
experience for anybody. Work in this country should never be a marginal
experience for anybody. If you\'re working, if you\'re farming, if
you\'re using the talent that God gave you, this economy ought to be
able to reward you for that.

So what we are trying to do, what the Congress is trying to do, is to
try to figure out a way to keep faith with a lot of people, with the
futures of those soldiers, with these families who have all kinds of
desires to keep their lives intact and their farms intact.

And the final observation, Mr. Secretary, if we really want to get this
right we have to do one other thing \-- and I touched on it at the
beginning \-- we have to understand the common bonds that we have and
the common bonds that you have as people who work the land, who care
about the land. Let there never come a time again, in this debate, when
we let ourselves be divided over something as fleeting and as
meaningless as the color of skin. Let that time never come again.
Because I don\'t care if you\'re a black farmer or a white farmer, the
chances are the struggle is the same in your family right now. I don\'t
care if you\'re a black farmer or a white farmer, the chances are that
your family right now is trying to figure out how to keep your future
what it needs to be.

So let us get past these old divisions. And let us find a way standing
in this wonderful house in this wonderful campus to be true to the
values of the land.

I have the honor of presenting today the president of this institution.
Before I do that, I do want to recognize Alabama\'s highest ranking
agricultural official. We are fortunate that we have an outstanding
agriculture commissioner in the state of Alabama, one who is committed
to every value that I describe, one whose friendship means a great deal
to me, Ron Sparks. Ron, thank you for being here.

(Applause.)

And I\'m honored to turn now to a friend of mine, the president of this
wonderful university, Dr. Payton, to present his opening remarks. Dr.
Payton, thank you for your wonderful leadership.

(Applause.)

DR. BENJAMIN PAYTON, PRESIDENT OF TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY: Thank you,
Congressman Davis, and to distinguished guests, Secretary Johanns, our
commissioner, to other state officials and heads of agencies in our
state, welcome to Tuskegee. You all ought to know how good you look out
there. You are just a fine looking audience. And you are here in such
great numbers. It is a great testimony to, I think, the quality, Mr.
Secretary, of the outreach that you have made and the impact that you
are making. And it\'s also testimony to the depth of the interests and
the concern that people have about farming and the issues that confront
farmers in our country. It\'s entirely appropriate that this meeting be
held at Tuskegee University, the \"pride of the swift growing South.\"
Those words come directly out of our alma mater, written by one of our
great poets. But it\'s important that it\'s held here because
historically this institution has meant so much to the state and to this
region, and vice versa. It\'s important because here we throw out a
welcome mat to everybody. We make it clear that you\'re welcome here,
and I think you know, and we are delighted to see you responding.

Let me say that I just spent a couple of wonderful hours with the
Secretary, and I\'m delighted to have the honor and privilege of
presenting to us the Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns. He was sworn
in as the 28th Secretary of agriculture on January 21, 2005. He comes to
us with a strong background in agriculture. He was born in Iowa, a state
that also has a very strong connection to this institution. George
Washington Carver came to us from Iowa. Carver was the first black
member of the faculty at Iowa State University where he did his graduate
work, having been recruited by the distinguished founder of this
institution, Dr. Booker T. Washington.

But our Secretary comes from a family farm. He\'s not talking about this
from some background of mere academic interest. He has a passion for
farming, and this was shown during his career. It showed during his
tenure as the governor of the state of Nebraska, its 38th governor. In
the course of those six years, he enacted many new programs that were of
great value to farmers there. He initiated the value-added agricultural
initiatives, signed into law the Agricultural Opportunities and
Value-Added Partnership Act. He supported the development of a
hydroponic produce facility, signed legislation that focused financial
resources on providing transferable, nonrefundable gas tax cuts for the
production of ethanol. He\'s the kind of Secretary who has a vision for
really what we need to be focusing on today. As I look at the prices of
gas at tanks around here and at the tanks when I drive up \-- Mr.
Secretary, we needed you a few years ago. We need to get some
alternatives going immediately. Gas is just getting out of sight and out
of hand.

He brings an interest in and a knowledge about economics \-- agriculture
economics \-- internationally. He\'s led eight delegations of Nebraska
government business and agricultural leaders on trade missions to
foreign countries, including Japan, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Australia,
Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Brazil and Chile. He has served as chairman
of the governor\'s Biotechnology Partnership and as the state government
representative on the advisory committee to the Export-Import Bank of
the United States. As a member of both the National Governors
Association and the Western Governors Association. Johanns concentrated
on issues important to agriculture, including drought relief. We\'re
more concerned right now about getting rid of some of the water, Mr.
Secretary, and if you could help us there, we\'d appreciate that too, as
well as the important 2002 Farm Bill.

He\'s a graduate of St. Mary\'s University of Minnesota, earned a law
degree from Clayton University in Omaha, Nebraska, practiced law in
Nebraska. He was elected mayor of Lincoln in 1991, reelected in \'95,
and successfully ran for governor three years later. He is married to
Stephanie Johanns, a former Lancaster County commissioner and state
senator. They have two children. Let\'s welcome our Secretary of
Agriculture, Mike Johanns. (Applause.)

U.S. SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE MIKE JOHANNS: Thank you very much. Thank
you. That\'s really nice of you. I\'ve had such a great welcome since I
arrived here, and this is no exception. Your standing though reminds me
of a story. I had just been elected the governor of Nebraska \-- but I
hadn\'t been sworn in yet \-- I was in that period of time there between
election and inauguration. And I was asked to give a speech in Kearney,
Nebraska, which is kind of out in the center of the state. And so I
drove out to Kearney \-- Stephanie and I, my wife and I. And we got
there, and a beautiful welcome, beautiful introduction, just like here.
And everybody stood up as I was going to the podium. So I got to the
podium, and I said, \"You know, that\'s really very nice of you, but I
haven\'t done anything yet.\" And somebody yelled out, \"And when you
do, we won\'t be standing.\" So \-- (laughter) \--

So let me, if I might, acknowledge the Congressman. I understand this is
not his district, but he cares so much about the issues that we\'re
going to talk about, and people in his district are so affected by what
we\'re going to talk about today that he came down. And, Congressman,
you set the right tone for this conference and this forum, and we
appreciate your comments, we appreciate you being here.

Let me also say to the president, President Payton, we had a great two
hours together. We did a tour of the museum. Now, if you haven\'t been
to the museum \-- and I suspect most people in this room have \-- but if
you haven\'t, you have got to go to that museum. It is first class. It
talks about the history of this great university. And one of the things
that really struck me, Mr. President, was that dating way back to the
beginning this type of event was not unusual here on campus. Farmers
would come here for education and forums and discussions. So we\'re just
continuing a very fine tradition by having this Farm Bill forum here
today.

Let me if I might also thank Kim Davis, who will be our moderator today.
We are going to have a little bit of a tag team here. In the second part
of this program we\'ll invite Lee McCoy up here, and he will be the
moderator for the second part. And I think if I have this right
Congressman Rogers will be joining us, maybe partway through this. And
when I get a signal that he\'s arrived, I may even invite him up here to
say a few words.

I also want to say to Ron Sparks, the Alabama Commissioner of
Agriculture and Industries, thank you for being here. We appreciate
that. I thought the ROTC Color Guard from Booker T. Washington High
School was outstanding. They did a great job. You\'ve got to be proud of
those young people. And then Logan Heim, a member of Enterprise High
School FFA String Band, singing the National Anthem. And Khiry Thurman
and Brandon Boyd, I believe, led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. And
then Kimberly Henderson and James Cooper are going to be our first
speakers. We always start these because we\'re focused on the next
generation and what do we do to provide for opportunity for young
people, we always start with somebody from the FFA and the 4-H. But
we\'ll get to that in a second.

Now, the president indicated that I did grow up on a dairy farm \-- and
I did. I saw some heads nodding out there \-- maybe there\'s some dairy
background here in this room. But I grew up in a dairy farm near a
community called Osage, Iowa, north central Iowa. You\'re sitting there
thinking, But, really, where\'s Osage at? So I\'ll clear that up to get
started today. Osage is, ladies and gentlemen, it\'s south of Stacyville
and St. Ansgar, and it\'s straight east to Manly. So now you know where
Osage is at.

(Laughter.)

I tell people my father had three sons, and his idea of building
character in his sons \-- and many in the room will relate to this \--
we were given a pitchfork and we were sent out to the barn or the hog
house, and we stood about ankle deep in you-know-what and we pitched
away. And John thought he was building character in his sons. You know
what? Little did John Johanns know that what he was really doing for his
youngest son Mike was preparing him for his life in politics, right?
(Laughter.) I shouldn\'t say that. I can say that because I\'ve been a
politician. I\'ve run for office. So I\'m not picking on our
Congressmen.

I bring you greetings from a great friend of yours, a man who really
encouraged me to do these Farm Bill forums \-- he said, \"Mike, I want
to see you out with farmers all across the United States.\" And that
friend is not only a friend of mine, but he\'s a friend of yours, and
that\'s the President of the United States. So I bring greetings from
President George Bush. And if I\'ve got my signals right, we may even
have an audio greeting from the president:

PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH (from audiotape): "Thanks for letting me speak to
you at this Farm Bill forum. America\'s farm and ranch families provide
a safe and abundant food supply for our people and for much of the
world. You represent the best values of America: stewardship of the
land, hard work and independence, faith, service and community. Mike
Johanns understands the importance of America\'s farmers to our country,
which is why I chose him to lead our Department of Agriculture. I\'m
proud of his work, and he will lead our efforts on the next Farm Bill.

"Secretary Johanns and I believe the first step in this process is to
ask each of you how today\'s Farm Bill is working and how it can be
better. And as we look to improve America\'s farm policy, we\'ll
continue to focus on the following goals.

" See, America has about 5 percent of the world\'s population, which
means 95 percent of your potential customers are overseas. So one of our
goals must be to ensure that America\'s farmers and ranchers have access
to open global markets. A second goal is that we want future generations
to have plenty of opportunities to go into agriculture. Thirdly, we need
cooperative conservation that encourages good stewardship of our land
and natural habitats.

"We also need to act wisely in delivering help to our nation\'s
producers. And we must promote cutting-edge agricultural products and
research. And, finally, we must ensure a good quality of life in rural
America. The Farm Bill is important legislation that meets real needs.
The next Farm Bill should further strengthen the farm economy and
preserve this way of life for farmers and ranchers of the future.
Hearing your advice is an important step towards meeting these goals. I
thank you for all you do for our country, and thank you for listening."

SEC. JOHANNS: That\'s your president, ladies and gentlemen.

(Applause.)

Now, I have just a couple more things to say. But if I could ask for
your help. We have some people standing in back there which \--
unbelievable crowd here today \-- if you have an empty chair next to you
that you\'re not using, would you please raise your hand, so somebody
who needs a place to sit down can see those hands? Just keep them up for
a little bit here. If you\'ve got an empty chair next to you, raise your
hand. It\'d be great to get some of these people to have a place to sit
down. You bet. Boy, I appreciate that help. Thank you very much. Okay,
that will get some people seated here. And, again, we do appreciate
that. There\'s still some hands up, so if you\'re looking for a chair,
head to one of those hands.

Now, a couple more thoughts. These Farm Bill Listening Sessions are
really exactly that. The whole idea here is that I pretty soon sit down
in this chair, and I listen to what you have to say. So what you\'re
going to see me do after I\'m done with my comments here is literally
sit back, grab my note cards and make some notes on the testimony that
we hear, roughly, over the next three hours. So if there\'s not a lot of
interaction, that\'s why: because every minute I take to offer some
thoughts, that\'s a minute that is being taken away from your time. And
I think because of this crowd you\'re going to see that we\'ll use up
all of that time. So I don\'t want the next three hours to be about me
taking 45 minutes talking to you. So pretty soon here I\'m going to sit
back.

We\'ve done about 10 of these forums \-- I have, at least \-- we\'ve had
some under secretaries and the deputy out there doing some more.
Tomorrow I\'ll be in Las Cruces, New Mexico for a forum. Next week I\'ll
be in Kentucky and Illinois. I could tell immediately when the plane
landed and we were driving over to the campus, you\'ve had rain here,
haven\'t you? You\'ve got water standing in ditches, in low areas.
Everything is green and lush. I wish I could pull a little bit of that
up to Illinois, because they\'ve had a terrible drought this summer.
Now, they\'ve gotten a little bit of rain, little late quite honestly
for a lot of crops, but it\'s nice to see some green grass. It really
is.

Now, here\'s kind of the format, ladies and gentlemen, and maybe the
moderator will speak a little more about this. But I just wanted to
offer one quick thought about the format. If you have a specific problem
with USDA \-- \"Oh, I\'ve got a loan application, and I haven\'t heard
what\'s going on\" \-- that kind of thing \-- we\'ve got people from the
USDA here, and we want to hear that, we want to help you with that. But
this Listening Session probably should be about the broader issues of
the Farm Bill. We\'re asking people to focus on six areas that we have
put out there.

First, challenges for new farmers. And that\'s really those first two
people that will testify. They\'ll get us started into that.

The second question is: How do we stay competitive in a global economy?

The third area deals with the whole area of the Farm Bill benefits: Are
they evenly distributed? What do you think about how we pay benefits
out?

The fourth area is conservation. I might add you do a lot of
conservation in here. What are we doing right with conservation? What
would you like to see us do differently?

The fifth area is rural economic growth. What do you think of our rural
economic development initiatives and what we might be doing to enhance
those, change them, make them more user-friendly, whatever? And then the
final area relates to expansion of ag products, markets and research,
which incidentally this university is so well known for the expansion of
products and research. I mean, literally it was right here that southern
agriculture was given a future, because of the great work that was done
here. So, again, very appropriate that we are here.

Well, with that, it\'s great to be here. As I said, I\'m going to sit
back now. I\'ve got an ink pen that\'s full of ink, and I\'ve got plenty
of note cards. Moderator, we\'re ready I think \-- just about \-- to
turn it over to these fine folks. And they\'re going to talk to us for
the next three hours or so. All right, it\'s all yours.

MODERATOR: Okay. Mr. Secretary, before we get started \-- and I know
we\'ve got some students who are going to come up and ask some questions
\-- but if you are a farmer, if you farm small, large, medium, whatever
you farm \-- raise your hands so the Secretary can acknowledge you \--
if you do any kind of farming at all. Wow, look at those hands, Mr.
Secretary. And they have come to talk with you and come to discuss some
of their concerns with you. That is the great testimony to this forum
and the importance of crafting a 2007 farm policy bill.

Having said that, we\'ve got two students who will kick off our
questions. Now, we\'ve got microphones on this side, and we\'ve got
microphones on that side there. We do have a few rules that we\'ve got
to share with you. We know that everybody has something to say and wants
to share his and her thoughts and concerns, but we don\'t have a lot of
time for everybody. So what we\'ve got to do is limit our time to about
two minutes \-- two minutes. And so what we\'ll do is kind of monitor
that up here. But say what you have to say, and we want everybody\'s
thoughts and concerns to be heard. The Secretary is going to take notes
and take them back to Washington. And he does in fact want to hear from
you. He does care about all of what you have to say.

So, in a few minutes, we want you to line up at the microphone and
express yourself. Okay? Our two students, come forward now. Introduce
yourselves and tell us where you\'re from.

MISS KIMBERLY HENDERSON: My name is Kimberly Henderson, and I\'m
representing the Alabama FFA Association at State Sentinel, and I have
five other fellow officers with me of the Alabama association, if you
all would please stand. Thank you. And I\'m from Enterprise FFA Chapter.

I\'m addressing the first question, which states: How should farm policy
address any unintended consequences and ensure that such consequences do
not discourage new farmers and the next generation of farmers from
entering production agriculture? Profitability is the key to keeping
young people in the field of agriculture. Young people need to know that
production agriculture is a viable career choice. Not educating future
agriculturalists about changes in the farm industry and related
agricultural fields on the global level will contribute to the lack of
interest for future agriculturalists.

There are fewer family-owned farms, because the next generation of
farmers are not visualizing the opportunities that the agricultural
industry still offers today. What an awesome opportunity and
responsibility that we still have not only to feed our nation but also
the world. Education concerning technology and global opportunity is a
solution to keeping potential farmers interested in an agriculture
career. We need to utilize technology and research to be able to compete
on the global field. Government programs should continue to boost
agriculture exports.

International trade is the key to profit. Farmers need to understand
what impact they can make on America and on the world. Farm policy
should be designed to encourage future agriculturalists to continue in
production agriculture. Just as the heart of the FFA is on the local
level, the heart of the agricultural industry is in production. To keep
this statement true, we must ensure that young farmers can compete on a
level playing field with other countries. For these reasons, education
should be a major part of the farm policy. Young farmers should have
knowledge required to efficiently utilize technology and compete on the
global level. Future farmers must believe that the agricultural industry
is a feasible choice for a profitable career. Farm policy should help
them do so. Thank you.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Kimberly. (Applause.)

Our next student is James Cooper. James.

MR. JAMES COOPER: My name is James Cooper, and I\'m a senior at Booker
T. Washington High School, and I\'m also a 4-Her here in Macon County. I
would like to address the first question, How should farm policy address
unintended consequences that discourage the next generation of farmers
from entering production agriculture.

By definition, \"unintended consequences\" are unpredictable, so you
cannot forecast them. You should react to minimize the unforeseen impact
of policy. First, we need to make sure that we try to minimize
unintended consequences in the future. We could try to use focus groups
of young farmers who currently make their living in production
agriculture. We should ask them to look into the future of farm policy
and provide suggestions on how to minimize negative impacts on young
farm families. It is their future that is at stake.

Secondly, we need to ensure that we are not making a policy that catches
up in a cycle that is doing the same thing the same way all the time.
Young people are innovators by nature and are more willing to try new
things or take risks because their comfort zones are not as established
as older people. We should try to make a policy that has room for
innovation and does not support tried and true production methods. This
possibly includes extending policy beyond the pure production of value
added and allowing more risk taking on the part of the farmers.

We must remember that farmers are often more tied to the lifestyle and
value of production agriculture, national economy or heritage than they
are to the wealth they accumulate over time from the increased value of
their land and other assets.

And, finally, creative measures are needed in dealing with the passing
down of farm land and assets from one generation to the next, whether it
is a family member or a friend, without suffering extensive loss.

On behalf of the Alabama 4-H Youth Development and the Alabama
Cooperative Extension System, thank you for the opportunity to share.
(Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you, James.

SEC. JOHANNS: I think Congressman Mike Rogers just walked in.
Congressman, I warned the crowd that when you walked in I would give you
an opportunity to come on up and offer a few thoughts. So, if you\'re
willing to do that, we would give you a warm welcome. Please welcome the
Congressman. (Applause.)

U.S. CONGRESSMAN MIKE ROGERS (R-AL): Thank you very much. I\'m happy to
be able to make it. I had a town hall meeting near Phenix City this
morning, and I was wondering whether or not we would get here in time,
but my staff drives fast, so we made it, and I\'m glad we made it.

As you know, I\'m a member of the House Agriculture Committee, so I am
particularly proud to see the Secretary here and talking about something
that\'s so important to all of us, and especially those here at
Tuskegee, and that is the Farm Bill and its impact on Alabama.

Yesterday I had the privilege of touring \-- doing an ag tour with many
of the farmers of the southern part of the district around this region.
And I see one of my hometown farmers right out here. There are just
enormous issues facing us in this next Farm Bill that we are going to
have to have some real dialogue with the Secretary about and make sure
that our interests are protected. So thank you for being here. I don\'t
want to take up any time other than saying we\'re proud to have you in
Alabama. We look forward to working with you on this Farm Bill.
(Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you, Congressman. We know that you may not be able to
stay with us very long, but have a seat and join us.

Okay, now it\'s time to hear from you. Again, we\'ve got microphones on
both sides. Please come up and tell our Secretary of Agriculture what\'s
on your minds. Express your concerns relative to our six questions here.
And we do have a brochure, so if you\'re not quite sure what those
questions are, we do have a brochure. Please keep your remarks to about
two minutes. Identify yourself, sir. We\'ll start with you.

MR. CHARLES HOLMES: My name is Charles Holmes. I am from west Alabama,
Marion, Alabama, home of Marion Institute and Jefferson College. I\'m
also a fifth generation farmer, same farm my family homesteaded in 1819.
I was addressing question number one. I want to address other questions
later, if I have the opportunity. But on question number one, I\'d speak
as a father. I have three sons. Two have graduated from college; one is
still in school. And my wife and I really had a hard time as to whether
or not to get them to come into farming. As much as they wanted to, as
much as they were brought up doing, two of them are back on the farm
now. It\'s hard for us to watch our children\'s friends and the quality
of life that they have and the quality of life that they\'ve chosen as a
farmer. And there\'s got to be some kind of way \-- we\'re pretty much
land-locked as far as buying properties now. The doctors and the lawyers
and the stock brokers can come to Perry County, Alabama and offer a
whole lot more for land to hunt and fish and play on than my children or
myself can purchase that property to grow food and fiber on. And that\'s
something that I hope that we will address in the Farm Bill. Thank you.

Oh, and I also would like to thank my Congressman, Artur Davis, for
being here and my state representative, Ralph Howard, from west Alabama,
to come up here.

MODERATOR: Thank you, sir.

Let\'s alternate sides now. Sir, identify yourself, tell us where
you\'re from.

MR. ROBERT R. BANYON (sp): First I\'ve got to identify with my Father,
Most Holy Father of Abraham, Jacob and Isaiah. Father, I come to You
this morning with a bowed head and Lord we thank You for letting the
Agriculture Secretary to come down. But most of all, Lord, when they\'re
drawing up the bill, Lord, I want You to be in the midst of them. These
blessings we ask in your name, and bless this university in Your name,
Amen, thank God.

My name is Robert R. Banyon (sp) from Chilton County, and I\'ve been
into politics, Mr. Secretary, and never won a race. Doesn\'t bother me.
(Laughter.) Doesn\'t bother me. I want you to know that, don\'t bother
me. But I have always been one to be a watchdog. And it\'s an issue here
I\'ve got to bring before you everybody don\'t like to touch on. It\'s
discrimination, Mr. Secretary. We have drawn up bills from 1994 \-- Mr.
Clinton drew up some good bills \-- but you understand when it leave the
Potomac, when it leaves Washington, D.C., we are not able to receive
those loans and grants that you got for us. Mr. Secretary, if you will,
go back and tell Mr. Bush, say we\'ve got trouble in the South and we
would like you to address some of their issues.

Mr. Secretary, I want to say to you with all due respect, all the men
sitting on the podium, with all due respect \-- disrespecting Ron\'s \--
(inaudible) \-- met with him, and Ron did some things for some black
farmers out in the district and I was proud of it \-- proud of you, Ron.

But I want to say to you we are \-- there\'s some things that we are
covering up. It\'s just like when my daddy was coming up he had two
homes \-- you know how \-- you know what I\'m talking about. One over
here \-- he goes sees Sister Sadie. Then he\'d come over here and raise
his children. We\'re covering up issues.

And I want to tell you, Mr. Secretary, I hate to talk about
discrimination, but I\'ve got to talk about it. Somebody has got to
raise some awareness of what\'s happening. We cannot continue to cover
for the next 100 years. Even George Washington talked about freeing the
slaves \-- but it took 16 presidents later to free the slaves.

I just want to tell you, Mr. Secretary, I want you to go back and read
your Bible. Go back \-- because I read mine this morning. And we ought
to toil the land. But if everybody is keeping up out of toiling the
land, we cannot survive, and this country won\'t go anywhere if we
don\'t fix some of these problems. I want to tell you, Mr. Secretary,
tell Mr. Bush, Robert Banyon (sp) said \-- you can call my name \--
it\'s okay. (Laughter.)

MODERATOR: And, sir, we thank you very much for your comments.

MR. BANYON (sp): We want justice to rain down like water, and I\'m
leaving you \-- say \-- but we want justice \-- talking about King now
\-- he said he wants justice to roll down like water. Mr. Secretary, you
can do that, you\'re a young man. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you. Thank you. We appreciate your comments very much.
Mr. Sparks, our commissioner, Ron Sparks, Agriculture Department.

RON SPARKS, ALABAMA COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE: Thank you very much.
Thank you so much. Mr. Secretary, as commissioner of agriculture, I
personally want to thank you for coming to the great state of Alabama. I
think you\'ll find that we have some of the best farmers in the country
in the state of Alabama, and I want to thank you so much. I had an
opportunity to visit with you in Nashville. You are taking the South
serious, and we thank you for that so much.

I want to start out my comments \-- this young lady here must have
gotten my remarks before I got up here, but I want to start out my
remarks with a survey that Business Week magazine did of desirable 100
professions, of security, earnings and prestige. Agriculture came out
98th, two from the bottom of 100. With that, how do we encourage young
people to go into agriculture? And what do we do when we lose this
generation of farmers? Those are some concerns that I have. And I think
we\'ve got to do everything we can to encourage young people to stay in
agriculture. But how do we do that? We do that with profitability. We
hear that word a lot. But if we can\'t show young people that you can
make a living and that you can provide for your family in agriculture,
they will not go in it.

We\'ve got to have more vocational agriculture programs in our schools
so that our children can learn about agriculture. We have got to have a
level playing field. And we have got to make sure that folks who sent
products into this country live by the same standards that we ask our
farmers to live by and produce by.

We\'ve also got to do everything that we can to help our farmers meet
government regulations so that they can meet the public\'s expectations.
And we\'ve got to protect the environment.

Also, let me say this \-- you touched on this a minute ago, and I know
you talked about it in Nashville \-- I personally think it\'s absolutely
ridiculous that this country is paying \$2.75 for a gallon of gasoline.
And I\'ve heard you before, Mr. Secretary, your commitment of
alternative fuels. Agriculture can pave the way for independence of
foreign oil, and we must tap that, and we must do it now. It\'s a
serious issue and it\'s bringing us to our knees.

The bottom line is very simple: Profitability, protecting our family
farms and protect and preserve the high quality farmland that we have in
this country.

I\'m going to close by saying this: Doctor George Washington Carver once
said, \"A man with no vision is a man with no hope.\" Alabama has
vision, Alabama has hope. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you, commissioner.

Sir, on this side, tell us who you are and where you\'re from.

MR. OBIE DEALE (sp): I\'m Obie Deale (sp). I\'m from Macon County,
Georgia.

Mr. Secretary, question number five: How can federal rural and farm
program provide effective assistance in rural areas? Number one, Mr.
Secretary, you can provide that assistance by not necessarily
reinventing the wheel. You have a problem in the Agriculture Department
with the people that work with you. They will not carry out policies and
procedure. A lot of policies on the book don\'t need to be rewritten.
They just need to be implemented. And all over the nation we have the
same identical problem.

Mr. Secretary, you can issue an order from your office, and when it gets
down here in Alabama or Georgia, the guy who is the director of that
office, he ain\'t paying you no attention. He ain\'t paying you no
attention whatsoever. Now, sometimes I wonder how is it that \-- (short
audio break for tape change) \-- and they don\'t respect no color.
They\'ve got a network going on where they will foreclose on a farmer,
unbeknowing to the farmer, Mr. Secretary, that they themselves have
borrowed money against that farmer\'s land, because the system was so
loosely regulated. So they don\'t respect nothing that come from
Washington, D.C., because they know you\'re going to be gone in four
years. (Laughter.) They know. The system is so well netted, they know
you\'re going to be gone in four years, and they know there is no
disciplinary action against their action. They\'ll be moved to another
county or another state, and that\'s it. But the farm programs on the
books are good. The problem is you\'ve got these cancerous individuals
that are destroying everything, and they prevent family farmers from
obtaining \-- I mean, a \$50,000 loan ain\'t no money. We sent \$300
billion to Iraq and Afghanistan. All because we\'re now being destroyed
from within, not without, because of people, Mr. Secretary, that work
for you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. We appreciate your comments.

For those who are standing up, I understand in our auditorium there are
seats and a live remote, so if you don\'t want to stand in here, you may
feel more comfortable in the auditorium, and you will have the benefit
of seeing the actual presentation this afternoon. I just want everybody
to be comfortable who\'s joining us today.

On my left side, sir, please identify yourself.

MAX BOZEMAN: My name is Max Bozeman, and I\'m a cow/calf producer from
Elba, Alabama, in the wiregrass region. I currently serve as vice
president of the Alabama Cattlemen\'s Association, which is one of the
largest cattle organizations in this country. It is an honor to be here
today at historic Tuskegee University, and to get to give you my
comments.

I want to thank you on your diligent efforts and commitments to the
cattle producers on the international trade front, and in reopening
foreign borders to U.S. beef production, our products. We appreciate the
help that you also give us on BSE and keeping consumer confidence in
line. Cattlemen are one of Alabama\'s largest farm commodities, with
over 25,000 cattle farms, having more than \$400 million in sales
annually, Mr. Secretary. I know firsthand the impact of the Farm Bill,
as having once been a peanut producer and now have shifted to the cattle
industry. Those of us in production agriculture understand we must
protect and preserve our natural resources. From my standpoint as a
landowner and as a cattleman, I can see the benefits of monetary
incentive programs to attain this. Cattlemen and other farmers are the
original land stewards. I hope the coming Farm Bill will include such
incentives to help landowners achieve conservation and environmental
practices. My livelihood is dependent on being able to produce beef at a
competitive price for a global market. We need money for education and
research for our land-grant colleges and universities to help producers
keep abreast of this rapidly changing industry. And we must produce a
quality product comparably with today\'s rising input costs if we are to
stay in business.

As a cattleman and landowner, we also need programs for non-native
invasive plants. In the last few years tropical soda apple and previt
hedge has moved into our area, and it is really expensive to try to
control. Some existing programs and my concerns in our opinion that need
some changes are the CRP. I think we need to look at that real close and
see if we can\'t make changes. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for coming to
Alabama, and for listening to my comments. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you, sir.

Just a reminder, we would ask you to keep your comments to about two
minutes. And we\'ll continue on my right side. Sir, identify yourself,
tell us where you\'re from and the industry you represent.

MR. JAMES L. SMITH: Thank you. My name is James L. Smith, and I live
here in Tuskegee, in Macon County, and I am the chairman of the board of
the directors \-- (inaudible) \-- Water Authority, which is a rural
water system. We want to thank USDA for providing funds to establish
rural water systems in Alabama. Right here in Macon County, if we did
not have a rural water system, I would say about 30, 40 percent of the
rural residents would not have access to running water. So rural water
plays a significant part not only in increasing the quality of life for
our citizens; but it also provides an opportunity for our economic
growth and development. So in developing the Farm Bill for 2007, we want
to respectfully urge the Secretary to make sure that funds are still
available in the budget for rural water systems. And there are three
areas that I would like to suggest maybe we want to look at in terms of
providing additional funds. One, we need to identify additional sources
of quality water. Number two, we need to provide funds to expand some of
the existing water distribution systems to reach more people in the
rural areas. For example, I know throughout the rural areas, especially
the Black Belt areas, there are still pockets of rural area people that
do not have running water. And of course the third, and the last, we
need funds to protect our water resources from the act of terrorism. So
we\'re just happy to have the Secretary here in Alabama, especially at
Tuskegee University, where I graduated from, and we\'re just glad to
have you and hopefully you will take this advice. Thank you so much.

(Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you so much.

Sir, we welcome you. Please identify yourself. We like your hat. Tell us
where you\'re from. (Laughter.)

MR. ERIC SMITH: Good afternoon, Mr. Secretary, Congressmen. My name is
Eric Smith, and I\'m from Pickens County in west-central Alabama.
That\'s in the northern part of the Black Belt region. It\'s bisected.
It\'s a native grassland area bisected by the Tennessee-Tombigbee
Waterway. It\'s one of those areas in the state that historically has
had impoverishment. Our biggest asset that we have other than our people
is our land base. Much of our land base is tied up in government
programs. I\'d like to address that momentarily.

I appreciate you coming today. The regulations that your department
administers directly affects our operations and will keep me in business
or perhaps push me out. We appreciate the support that you\'ve given us
on the national Beef Checkoff Referendum, which is a self-help program
that we believe has done a world of good not only in this country but
with our products throughout the world. We\'re pleased that USDA worked
hard to get a favorable ruling through the courts, and we appreciate
everything you\'ve done in the past.

There are currently two programs that USDA administers that are
beneficial to cattle producers, and we encourage continued funding in
these areas. They are the WIP and EQIP programs. These economic
incentives enable us to implement programs to improve the quality of our
environment and enhance wildlife habitat. The government can accomplish
much by providing the technology and cost-sharing funding that allows
private landowners to make these improvements to their operations that
will increase productivity and protect our natural resources.

Along with my cows, I, like many of my fellow cattlemen, have a poultry
operation. Disposing of poultry litter properly, especially in areas of
concentrated poultry production, is an increasing problem. Cattle
producers can benefit from spreading litter on pastures. We encourage
USDA to increase the funding for the poultry litter disposal program
that\'s administered under the EQIP program.

High fuel costs continue to make it difficult to transport this product
to areas need. One popular program in the past farm bills, and one I\'m
sure will be addressed again, is the Conservation Reserve Program. Many
of the landowners in my area have land in this program, and they
appreciate it. However, for one who makes a living off the land, the CRP
program makes it extremely difficult for me to compete for the land is
in that program. Basically I am competing on a rental basis with the
government. This land is out of production and sits idle. Land ownership
gets a check, but there is no other tax increases in benefits from that.

Our area needs that land back in production. The cattle industry is
going to grow again in the South, and we would like to see that land
become available. We suggest that you take a deeper look at this program
in the future.

Mr. Secretary, I\'m a father of three boys. Apparently I\'m training
them much like your father did. I\'m not sure it\'s for politics.
(Laughter.) I happen to have one of those boys who was elected governor
of the state of Alabama this year went to Boys State, attended Boys
Nation, and had the opportunity to come and meet with Congressman Artur
Davis \-- really had a great experience there and I appreciate the
Congressman giving him his time.

Our young people are the future of this country and the future of our
economy. We need these people to have an opportunity to come back onto
our farms if they so choose. We need to keep our best leaders at home.
To be able to do that, we need leadership \-- leadership at our state
and local levels, but more importantly leadership at the national level.
We need you as the Secretary, the president, and our congressmen, to
give us that leadership that we so desire. Thank you, sir. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you, sir.

To my right, sir, identify yourself.

MR. GEORGE W. HALL: Good afternoon. My name is George W. Hall, and I\'m
from the County of Greene, Eutaw, Alabama. Congressman Davis is my
Congressman. We\'re glad to see him here, and we appreciate the
Secretary coming also.

I won\'t repeat some of the things that\'s said, but basically I would
like to take note to what Reverend Banyon said, and also the gentleman
from Georgia.

And also, number three, How should farm policy be designed to
effectively fairly distribute assistance to producers? This is a
problem, a major problem I think, that needs to be addressed. Small
farmers, particularly black farmers, are at a disadvantage when we have
to go in and deal with trying to acquire monies, program benefits to
continue farming. So therefore we would ask that you would look at
number three for small farmers.

I also serve on the Greene and Sumter County Farmer Committee. As being
a minority there, a black, it is a challenge. I think the assistance
needs more diversification, as they have alluded to prior. And that\'s
one thing that has to be put in place. And once those people are put in
those positions, they have to be given the authority to carry out a fair
share of doing their job fairly. If they have white supervisors who can
make a final decision, then we\'re still no better off than we were,
than having a white supervisor in the position. So that\'s basically my
concern. And if I could leave a prepared statement, I would like to do
that also. Thank you.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Mr. Hall. (Applause.)

We do want you to know that you can go on the USDA.gov website and also
express your comments that way as well, if you do not get a chance to
come to the microphone this afternoon \-- and you could perhaps have a
more elongated comment that way as well. So do know that you can also
make those comments be known via the Internet.

Sir, we welcome you. Good afternoon, tell us who you are and where
you\'re from.

MR. RICHARD EDGAR: My name is Richard Edgar. I\'m from Deatsville,
Alabama. First of all, I\'m a row crop farmer. We grow primarily cotton,
but we are also rotating with grains. And I represent our county Farmers
Federation in Elmore County, as well as I serve on the state Alabama
Farmers Federation Cotton Committee. Mr. Secretary, we appreciate your
presence here. We appreciate our fine congressmen here, and the work
that they\'ve done in representing our state, and we\'ve been very
blessed by their key appointments our congressmen have sought and
gotten, and the privilege that it gives our area. And we just need to
further emphasize the fact that the crops we grow here in this state are
highly expensive crops to grow. Cotton for instance costs us over \$400
an acre. Now, it\'s going to cost me about \$450 a time to fill up my
cotton picker with fuel at current fuel prices. So you see we are kind
of in a cost price squeeze when cotton is selling in the mid 40 cent
range per pound. So we need a strong safety net to stay in place for the
cotton program, but its Step II provisions, its export provisions.
Although many of these provisions have been under attack by the WTO, and
we in the cotton industry see this as as much of a threat from other
nations as any other terror threat we\'ve seen, because we are seeing in
essence Third World countries telling us how to run our agriculture, how
to preserve and protect our agriculture in this nation. We don\'t need
to be in a position of being under the same strain to receive our food
and fiber as we are currently under our energy needs in the nation. So,
Mr. Secretary, it is vitally important that we, at the very least,
continue the cotton program as it is, as with many other of our
commodities, to continue a safety net there for our farmers with the
countercyclical programs and the marketing assistance that we can
receive, so that we can go to the world market and be safe in our
ability to work with that market and guarantee credit to other nations
who buy our products, and being able to support the infrastructure of
our industry to be able to move cotton across the world.

Just a few years ago we milled two thirds of our cotton here in this
country. But our textile industry has left the country. And now it\'s a
one third domestic use, two thirds export. And we have to desperately
have help with programs such as the Step II program and others to stay
in place so that we can effectively compete on a world market and move
cotton into that arena.

MODERATOR: Sir, I don\'t mean to cut you off, but we really do have to
abide by our two-minute rule this afternoon.

MR. RICHARD EDGAR: Thank you. Thank you very much.

MODERATOR: So we do thank you for your comments. And what I probably
will start doing is a little something like that to let you know you\'ve
got about 30 seconds left. Okay.

Let\'s move over to our right side. Sir, please identify yourself.

MR. CARL SANDERS: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for holding these
sessions and seeking input from those of us who are making our living in
agriculture. I am Carl Sanders, a peanut farmer from here in Alabama,
and I\'m representing not only the peanut producers of Alabama, but also
from Georgia and Florida through the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation.

In the last Farm Bill we went from a quota system to a marketing loan
program. Some went to other crops. I\'m pleased to say to you today that
this has worked well for the Southeast Peanut Producers as well as the
entire industry. We\'ve seen record increases in the demand for peanuts,
as manufacturers have increased advertising and introduced many new
products. As we begin discussions for the new Farm Bill, I believe our
entire industry would like to maintain a steady course.

In addition, the government cost for peanuts is expected to be well
below the original projections. That being said, there is always room
for adjustments. American agriculture has been forced to compete in a
world market. USDA programs with loan repayment provisions must be
accurate and based on world prices that will allow us to be competitive.
Also, when the new Farm Bill is considered, we hope that every effort
will be made to ensure that producers who are assuming the risk in
agriculture will be the recipients of these programs and incentives.
Again, our program is basically working well for the benefit of everyone
from the producer to the consumer, and we look forward to working with
you and your administration in the coming Farm Bill. Thank you, sir.
(Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you, Mr. Sanders. To my left here, please identify
yourself.

MR. ARTHUR JACKSON: I\'m Arthur Jackson. I am from metropolitan White
Hall, Alabama \-- you know where it is, located along Highway 80. It\'s
a pleasure to be here this afternoon. And I said \"metropolitan\"
because of the fact growing up in White Hall as a young man, I grew up
on a farm. We talked about our young people needing something to get
into when it comes to farming, and we looked throughout West Alabama,
looked throughout that Black Belt \-- there\'s no longer that cash crop
in West Alabama that young people can tap into. Me growing up, cucumbers
were the cash crop. That\'s how I earned my money as a young man, and I
had spending money. Kids in my community today do not have anything from
an agricultural standpoint to tap into to generate any funds. As a
result, they take no interest in farming. Having had an opportunity to
work with Tuskegee University ag and industry, in RCS and some other
agencies since 1999, Mr. Secretary, we feel that we have identified and
come up with a cash crop that can help those small producers generate
some immediate income. We\'d like to see something in your Farm Bill
that can help us find adequate resources that could help a manufacturer
or a processor get the products processed \-- help that small farmer get
a crop ready for market. And whenever you\'re ready for Ron and I to
come to Washington and help you write that in that Farm Bill, we\'ll be
more than happy to come and help you do it. Thank you very much.
(Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you, sir.

Welcome, sir. Please tell us who are you and where you\'re from.

MR. STINSON CARPENTER: My name is Stinson Carpenter. I\'m from east of
\-- (inaudible) \-- northern Talladega County, and I\'d like to say I\'m
glad to be speaking to the group that we have on the platform.

Mr. Secretary, I\'m here to advocate for some very special people. I
never thought I would be among farmers talking about what I want to
speak about, but I think that Rainbow Omega, an organization in
Talladega County, coupled with USDA, is a classic example of where
federal or public funds is coupled with private funds to make the
quality of life for some mentally retarded people.

I have two sons. One is married, I have two granddaughters. He finished
college and is making a living today in Alabama. I have another son who
is 39 years old and he\'s mentally retarded. And one of the biggest
concerns myself is what\'s going to happen to him when he dies. And
because of the USDA rural development, we have nine homes now that were
built with that kind of money, and it\'s a matter of quality of life for
these people. We also have created jobs there. We have greenhouses, we
have a workshop where we do contract work with local companies. And
it\'s a great thrill to see these people who you might say are children
in grown-up bodies, go to the bank, put their mark on their check, and
to see the self-esteem that\'s been built in them. You know, Helen
Keller, one of our citizens of Alabama long ago, said that it\'s not
enough just to live, but it\'s to have a quality of life. And I\'d like
to say thank you to Steve Pelham and his staff at USDA Rural Development
for helping us in the last 10 and a half years. We\'ve been able \--
there\'s 67 residents that live at Rainbow Omega, and they come from all
over the state, and we have a long waiting list. And families care about
these people. And so my words to take back to President Bush is put more
money into Rural Development, providing housing for these individuals.
Thank you, Mr. Secretary. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you, sir.

We welcome you. Please tell us who you are.

MR. JAMES CARRIACK (sp): Yes, my name is James Carriack (sp). I\'m in
two roles, as a farmer and a county commissioner. One of the reasons
that we are here, we want to know some of the barriers that are
preventing some of the black farmers from using federal programs, and
how we can get around them. But it also has been addressed, but one of
the biggest problems I see after the black farmers lawsuit are the same
employees that caused the lawsuit are still in place. And a lot of the
black farmers haven\'t gotten any relief from the black farmer lawsuit.
The lawsuit started in 1997, and here it\'s eight years later and some
of the farmers are still waiting. There\'s no way you can hold a farmer
off that long without getting this assistance. How can some of these
barriers be overcome?

One of the main things I see is you set up a committee, that we hear the
grievances of the farmers in the Black Belt area, create an agency that
will assist Black Belt farmers in financial assistance that would
include the following: vouchers for purchasing farm equipment and
supplies; special cost-sharing programs; allow everyone who has not
received relief from the black farmers settlement; and anyone who can
prove that he or she was a farmer on January the 1st, 1981, to December
the 1st, 1997, receive the \$50,000 payment that they were entitled to
from the settlement.

MODERATOR: You have 30 seconds.

MR. CARRIACK (sp): I believe that most of the money that is being spent
in the black farmer lawsuit is used to implement the program and not
given to the farmers. Some of the things for rural development are new
homes, refurbishing old FHA homes, summer jobs and recreation facilities
and grants for community gardening. Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you. And, just a reminder, everyone is welcome to talk
to the USDA staff in the back. Why don\'t you raise your hands and we
can acknowledge you? And if you want to get with them after the program,
but all means go to them, talk to them, and let them know your thoughts
as well, particularly if they\'re going to be longer comments. But we
welcome everybody\'s comments this afternoon.

Sir, we welcome you. What is your concern?

MR. BEN BURKETT: Thank you. My name is Ben Burkett. I\'m a farmer from
Mississippi. I\'m here today to address how can farm policy best achieve
conservation and environmental goals.

In March of this year, the Secretary\'s office announced a program of
small limited loans for small farm initiatives \-- set aside for \$6
million for 12 states. We think that was a great program. We also would
like for the Secretary to possibly see that that program could be
reauthorized for this year.

I\'m also here to represent a community-based organization. I\'m a
member and a staff person of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives
Land Assistance Fund. We also are requesting that the Secretary and the
office of agriculture, that you support community-based organizations,
and stress the land-grant system of assisting land-grant universities,
such as this great institution of Tuskegee, carry out their mission of
research and agricultural assistance to us as small farmers. I also am a
vegetable farmer in Mississippi, and we need more research in crops that
can be profitable to us as small farmers.

As before stated, for young people to remain on the farm we must make
production agriculture profitable. Other than that, they\'re always
going to leave and go to the cities and make less money. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. And thank you for coming from Mississippi as
well. We appreciate your attendance with us today.

We welcome you, sir. Please identify yourself.

MR. LEO HOLLINGER: Thank you. I\'m Leo Hollinger. I\'m from Wilcox
County. I\'m a cattleman in the Black Belt area of Alabama. Alabama\'s
Black Belt has long been known as cow country. We can do a really good
job in the Black Belt with forage production and cattle that eat these
forages really thrive on it. There are 13 counties that are considered
Black Belt counties. In the last 10 years there\'s been a 28 percent
decrease in the number of cattle in these 13 counties. If the cattle
numbers had remained at the level they were in 1995, that would be an
additional \$35 million circulating in the Black Belt today. We feel
there is a great potential for the cattle industry to turn Alabama\'s
Black Belt into Alabama\'s Green Belt. CRP was a major factor in this
decrease. In these 13 counties, there\'s 194,000 acres in the CRP. Some
of this is coming out in the next few years \-- 125,000 acres by \'07.
It is estimated that 20,000 additional cows could be added to these 13
counties. With government incentives, fencing and water in particular,
we feel this could be a reality.

MODERATOR: Thirty seconds.

MR. HOLLINGER: This could add approximately \$7 million to the economy
from the sale of cattle alone. I hope the USDA will see this potential
for the cattle industry to improve this area. We encourage you to study
it and come back with a positive response. Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you, Mr. Hollinger.

Sir, we welcome you. Give us your name and tell us where you\'re from.

MR. BILLY HOUSTON: Thank you. My name is Billy Houston. I\'m the
director of economic development for Eufaula-Barbour County Chamber of
Commerce. Our community has 14,000 people in Eufaula, and Barbour County
has 29,000-plus. Thus we\'re definitely classified as a rural area in
America. I was a banker in Eufaula for 33 years, and the last 14 years
served as city president of Eufaula Commerce Bank. The last four and a
half years I have served in the position as director of economic
development. Thus I have an awareness of needs and concerns in our rural
area which could translate into other rural areas of America as well.

First and foremost, one of the biggest needs and concerns is the ability
of its citizens to be able to make a good living and support their
families. Jobs and creation of jobs through growing existing businesses
or recruiting new businesses in rural America is a prime concern of our
regional leaders. And this is where USDA\'s Rural Development programs
are so important.

In my four-plus years as director of EDC and years of experience in
banking in Barbour County, I have witnessed firsthand the importance of
USDA to rural America. Your B&I loan program to businesses and
industries which assists companies in obtaining needed assistance and
getting capital for growth and expansion is so valuable and important.
Providing help in our county\'s local communities through the Rural
Enterprise Grants to awarding sewer assistance and other infrastructure
needs is crucial to the quality of life in our area.

MODERATOR: Thirty seconds.

MR. HOUSTON: Also, through our intermediate rural lending program,
businesses, especially small businesses, again are assisted with needed
working capital and other expenses through revolving loan programs and
financing this fund.

I also appreciated, as all our elected officials and other leaders of
the county, who came to the USDA road show in 2004, when Director Pelham
and his staff took the programs of USDA and presented it to all 67
counties in Alabama. It was a needed tour of what USDA offered in this
vast area of work. I know in Barbour County, where we had over 75
leaders attending, it was well received and appreciated. I commend
Director Pelham for his leadership. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, and I hope
you\'ll visit Alabama, in Barbour County, soon.

MODERATOR: Sir, we appreciate your comments. Thank you very much.
(Applause.)

On my left side. Gentleman, you are welcome. Tell us your name.

MR. LUKATA MJUMBE: Good afternoon, Mr. Secretary. My name is Lukata
Mjumbe. I\'m from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. My first job was as a corn
detassler in Indiana. And I\'m also the former director of the Rural
Training and Research Center of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives
Land Assistance Fund. We\'ve just been working for small family farms
since 1967 here in this state and across the Southeast, and there\'s a
couple who have already spoken from that organization. But everybody who
is a staff member or a member of the Federation, or former staff member
of the Federation, if you could just stand and be recognized, so the
Secretary can see how strong the Federation is here this afternoon.

I\'m also the former rural development specialist and policy director
for Congressman Davis, and I want to give some comments specifically on
question number two that was raised, as it relates to global
competition. I have to say that I think that the president has framed it
wrong. He may be engaging in some of what he would call \"fuzzy math,\"
when he talks about the 5 percent and our market being 95 percent
outside of this country. When we talk about global competition, we
frequently think about how our farmers can access the global market. But
I think that Commissioner Sparks would agree with me that in the state
of Alabama there\'s not a lot of fruits and vegetables or meats that are
being consumed by the people in Alabama that are grown by farmers here
in Alabama. So when we look at global competition, our global
competition is in Vietnam. Our global competition is in Argentina and is
in Chile and other parts of the world \-- just to be able to serve and
to provide food and resources for our people right here in this country.

MODERATOR: Thirty seconds.

MR. MJUMBE: We should be able to meet the demands of this market here,
and right now. The reason why gas prices are so high right now is
because decades ago there were some smart people who believed that we
should develop a relationship with certain countries in the Middle East,
and it has led to us being dependent on foreign oil. We can\'t do the
same thing here. We have to create secure local food systems for our
farmers. Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you. We appreciate your comments.

We welcome you to the microphone, sir. Tell us who you are and where
you\'re from.

MR. RICKY WIGGINS: Mr. Secretary, my name is Ricky Wiggins, and I am the
managing partner of a family farming operation with my father and son in
Covington County, Alabama. We produce cotton, peanuts, cattle and
timber. I\'m involved in several farm organizations, including Cotton
Incorporated, Southern Cotton Growers, Alabama Peanut Producers, and the
Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation, and serve as the Southeast vice
president of the Alabama Farmers Federation. It is my pleasure to speak
to you today on behalf of my family and fellow farmers across the
Southeast.

I had the recent opportunity to visit with farmers on their farms in
Switzerland. These talked to their \$400 per acre direct payments on
crop land, \$690 per cow unit direct payment on beef cattle, and
spending 8 percent of their national budget on farm subsidies. We
expressed our amazement at their government\'s generosity, and the reply
was, \"But you have crop insurance.\" Somehow they have the impression
that crop insurance is more than it really is in this country. While
most producers realize that no one should be guaranteed a profit, we do
see the need for real crop insurance reform that will give good
businessmen the tools they need to manage the unique risk involved in
agricultural production.

MODERATOR: Thirty seconds.

MR. WIGGINS: Oh, boy. (Laughter.) In January of 1999, Jerry Newby,
president of the Alabama Farmers Federation, appointed a committee of
producers from across the state of Alabama to look at risk management. I
chaired that committee. After looking at the current crop insurance
system and making suggestions for much needed change, we were still not
satisfied. It was still too expensive for adequate coverage, too many
producers were left out, and there was still too much room for fraud.

Today I\'d like to propose to you a concept that came out of the
committee. It will allow all farmers, regardless of size or commodity
produced, to manage their risk and save USDA money. We call it IRMA, the
individual risk management account. The basic concept of this is that
the producer takes money that he\'s been paying into crop insurance
premiums and puts it into a tax-deferred interest-bearing account. The
USDA takes money \-- they have been subsidizing that premium with a
match of the producer\'s money in the fund. I\'ll submit this to you \--

MODERATOR: Yes, you are more than welcome to submit your comments. And,
again, for any extra comments, you are welcome to submit them via the
Internet, usda.gov. So we do want everybody to make those comments
known. Okay?

Our congressmen are having to leave us at this moment. We appreciate
very much your coming and listening to our discussion. (Applause.) Thank
you so very much.

We will continue. Sir, please identify yourself. Remember, two minutes,
now.

REV. C. BROOKINGS TAYLOR (sp): Good afternoon. My name is Reverend C.
Brookings Taylor (sp) from Choctaw County in Alabama, from a family that
is a landowner and also a small-scale farmer.

First, let me commend you, Mr. Secretary, for the very fine job that
you\'ve done thus far. And by you having come here is an example that
you intend to do a good job. So thank you for that.

I personally thank the hosting group here, Tuskegee University, and
President Payton, the staff of the school, and also the students for
being so commendable and anxious to host this grand occasion.

Farming is one of the most noble industries in America, for it is
irreplaceable in providing us with one of our basic needs \-- food \--
without which other needs cannot be met. Farmers have earned and deserve
the very best support that the state and federal government can provide.

I believe if the late Dr. George Washington Carver could speak to us
today he would let us know that Alabama has some of the most fertile
soil in the United States, and that needs to be utilized more readily.

But I just want to touch on one thing: I hope that you will renew the
\-- will reopen I should say \-- the window of opportunity for the black
farmers of America pertaining to the civil lawsuit. All right? I truly
believe that if it\'s at all possible, if you would include a provision
in this new bill that will present a new window of opportunity for black
farmers to participate in the claimant process. Thank you for hearing
me.

MODERATOR: Thank you, sir.

We\'re going to take two more comments for the next few minutes, and
then we\'ll take a quick break and we will resume. Okay?

We will hear from you, sir. Please identify yourself and tell us where
you\'re from.

MR. HAROLD GAINES: Thank you. I\'m Harold Gaines. I\'m a family farmer,
with my brother, a partner. We raise cotton, peanuts and cattle in
central Alabama, Etowah County. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for coming
today. And I would like to make a few comments.

I do stand on your side of the fence on the issue of the Canadian cattle
crossing the border. I think that was a well \-- well decision.

The Farm Bill that is coming up, new Farm Bill, I do consider it needing
some critiquing. I do realize any drastic change would really upset the
ag economy in this country. A couple things I would like to recommend to
have a hard look at is I would like to see the elimination of renewed
CRP contracts for the reasons that have been stated before me. I
absolutely see no cost benefit in renewing contracts. I believe they
serve a purpose and accomplish their goals.

MODERATOR: Thirty seconds, sir.

MR. GAINES: I would also like to see a hard look at coupling government
payments with active at-risk producers. We find ourselves on our farm in
competition with the U.S. government to rent land to derive our income
from. The next Farm Bill, I would hope, would entertain these CRP
contracts and the payments that they would improve the infrastructure of
the rural agricultural economy in our state and our nation. Thank you
very much. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Sir, we appreciate your comments as well. Thank you.

And we\'ll hear from you, and then for a little bit we\'ll take a break
for about 5 or 10 minutes or so. And then we will resume. But everybody
who wants to speak will be heard.

Sir, identify yourself for us, please.

MR. ALVIN MILTON: Good evening. Mr. Secretary, name is Alvin Milton from
Houston County, Alabama. I\'m also a fourth generation farmer. We raise
peanuts, cotton and also vegetables, melon. And I\'m going to \-- I\'d
like to briefly speak about this item number five, which is the
transition.

One gentleman spoke earlier about the cotton and the cost per acre to
produce cotton. And I also represent a small \-- a group of small
farmers, less than 350 acres, in Southeast Alabama. And by the high
rising cost in the production of cotton and the small amount of return,
we\'d like to see in this next Farm Bill be \-- transition \-- if a
farmer chooses to make the transition from row crop to vegetables or
other small grain.

MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. We appreciate it. Okay, let\'s just put a pin
in it for just a few minutes. The Secretary needs to take a quick break.
But everybody, again, will have an opportunity to speak to the Secretary
and let your comments be heard. Give us about 5-10 minutes, and we\'ll
be back. Okay? Thank you very much.

(Break.)

MODERATOR: Okay, sir, if you will, identify yourself, where you\'re from
and what group you represent.

MR. HAL PEPPER: Thank you. The name is Hal Pepper, and I\'m with the
Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Mr. Secretary, we appreciate you
coming to Alabama.

A couple of months ago I was in Washington, D.C. for our National
Association of Farm Business Analysis Specialists, and you addressed the
group there, and we appreciate that.

I work with several farmers who have been here today submitting
testimony, and I work with them \-- they pay a few for the Farm Analysis
Association service that we provide. The emphasis is on profit. And you
have a copy of your latest summary report. I have several others of
those here today. If anybody would like to get one later, just see me
afterwards.

But I want to turn to page 33, the last page in this book. And it shows
that cotton farmers in particular, if they\'ve not had government
payments over the last five years their net farm income would have been
negative in every year except one. So you can see how important
government payments are to cotton farmers, and also cow/calf farmers.
You can see that in every year of the past five their income has been
negative. And here in central Alabama a lot of our producers raise
cotton and cattle, and that\'s an important enterprise to them, and I
just want to address that fact, that without government payments they
wouldn\'t be able to survive. So thank you very much.

MODERATOR: Thank you. I might have neglected \-- if you weren\'t here at
the very beginning of the program today, I am Lee McCoy. I am the
regional farm director for Southeast Ag Net. We provide agricultural
news to rural areas in Alabama, Georgia and Florida, and it\'s a
pleasure and an honor for me to be here to participate in this forum
with you.

Sir, go right ahead, introduce yourself, tell us where you\'re from and
who you\'re with.

MR. JEFF THOMPSON: Thank you. My name is Jeff Thompson. I\'m the
executive vice president of the Autauga Quality Cotton Association. I
also serve on the board of Directors of the National Cotton Council.

Mr. Secretary, I appreciate your time and willingness to have these
sessions and come to Alabama. As manager of the Autauga Quality Cotton
Association, which we are a cotton marketing co-op, I represent 3,000
cotton producers from West Texas to North Carolina. In today\'s economic
environment, these producers face many uncertainties. The one constant
that we must have is a continuation of the current Farm Bill unchanged
through its completion with the 2007 crop. In today\'s agricultural
environment, producers are required to make long-term investments and
decisions. This can only be done while working under the regulations of
a stable and consistent farm program. Everyone here understands the
importance of reducing the federal budget deficit. What we don\'t
understand is why some commodity programs such as cotton always seem to
bear an unfair share of the burden. Any required cuts in the budget
should be done in an equitable manner, across all parts of the Farm Bill
and across all commodities.

Most importantly, the structure of the Farm Bill should be maintained.
This would include current loan eligibility rules as well as payment
limit provisions.

The 2002 Farm Bill was a contract with the producer through 2007. We ask
that you not let the budget process be used as a vehicle to rewrite farm
policy.

Another challenge faced by cotton producers involved the recent appealed
decision by the WTO. They\'ve ruled the Step II portion of our three
step marketing program an unfair trade practice, calling for its
elimination. We\'re currently in the middle of a marketing year. We\'ve
made sales based on this program being intact. I urge the continuation
of the Step II program for as long as possible. Carefully consider the
negative impacts if this integral part of the marketing loan program is
eliminated.

As for the \'07 Farm Bill, I believe the continuation of the current
program will serve us well. The current program has been successful
while remaining under budget. Most importantly, it provides an effective
safety net in times of low prices. Such policy supports rural America
and, most importantly, it permits the U.S. consumer to continue to have
access to the safest, most affordable and most secure supply of food and
fiber in the world. And I ask that you continue your support in this
legislation in its current form. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you. One other housekeeping chore. If you have prepared
comments, there are a couple of boxes in the back here that you can
leave your complete text of your comments in. They will be taken and
recorded in their entirety.

Okay, sir, introduce yourself, who you\'re with and where you\'re from.

DR. ROBERT ZABAWA: Mr. Secretary, welcome to Tuskegee. My name is Robert
Zabawa, and I\'ve been a professor here for 20 years, and I\'m a
director of the 2501 program here. Today I would like to address
questions three and five.

In my professional experience in providing technical assistance and
outreach to farmers in the rural South, I have found the 2501 program to
be the most effective in reversing the decline of socially-disadvantaged
farmers and ranchers. The intended outcome of this program is to
encourage and assist these farmers to participate in agricultural
programs, own and operate their own farms and ranches, and thus allow
them to become an integral part of the agricultural community and
strengthen the rural economy.

Since its implementation at Tuskegee in 1994, we\'ve helped allocate
over \$7 million in farm ownership, farm operating, youth loans and
housing loans. Despite its clear record of success, the 2501 program
continues to face significant challenges in the future. To meet these
challenges, I would like to request the following changes be made in the
program:

One, full funding to the authorized level. The 2501 program has never
been fully funded to its authorized \$25 million. With increased
clientele and with continuing problems pertinent to small and
socially-disadvantaged farmers, full support is critical. Full funding
would also allow for an expansion of services to include Native
American, Hispanic American and new immigrant groups. Small and
socially-disadvantaged farmers still participate to a lesser degree in
USDA programs for which they are eligible. Full funding is necessary.

Two, mission-based funding. Funding should go to those universities and
community-based organizations with a true mission and history of working
with socially-disadvantaged farmers. Limited funding and an increase in
eligible institutions dilutes our effectiveness.

Three, permanent funding to a line item in the USDA budget. Funds for
2501 have been allocated from various sources, including agency funds,
discretionary funds and project funds. Stability of funding is critical,
and a line item would do that.

Four, multi-year commitments with projects. Currently our projects are
contingent on annual appropriations. Consistent and effective outreach
requires continuity of service and rapport-building over more than a
12-month period. Therefore multi-year project commitments \-- for
example, the five-year Farm Bill horizon \-- would be critical.

MODERATOR: If you could wrap up, please?

DR. ZABAWA: Yes. Fifth, stability and consistency of federal leadership.
Assigning a 2501 program to the Office of Civil Rights would give the
program the stability and consistency of leadership that guarantees
universities and organizations it needs. It will also stabilize the
mission of the program and give the proper context to the work that is
needed in order to save the land base for rural minority communities.
Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you. Again, lights \-- when the yellow light goes on
you have 30 seconds, so try to wrap up when you see the yellow light go
on.

Yes, sir, tell us your name, where you\'re from and who you represent.

MR. JOHN ZIPPERT: I\'m John Zippert. I\'m the director of program
operations for the Federation of Southern Cooperatives in Epes, Alabama,
and I\'m the co-publisher, with my wife, of the weekly newspaper in
Greene County, which is why I was in the press conference, Mr.
Secretary.

The Federation adopted a resolution at its annual meeting just this past
weekend in support of black and other disadvantaged farmers, and I just
want to hit a few of the highlights of that resolution, one of which is
to ask you to maintain a moratorium on the foreclosure of black and
other disadvantaged farmers, particularly those who have been engaged in
the Pigford legislation, and in doing that moratorium to find some
people independent of FSA to review every individual case of
foreclosure, if you decide go to that way, to be sure people have been
given all their rights, and to prevent the kind of conflict of interests
you head about here earlier where agents of the government are buying
these properties.

We also supported numerous changes in the Farm Bill, including the full
funding of Section 2501. If you look back at the 10-year history of this
program \-- really the 15-year history now of this program \-- there is
somewhere upwards of \$70 million that we didn\'t get if it would have
been full funded. So there\'s been a deficit in the effort, as far as
the Federation feels, and we feel this program must be fully funded and
many of the things that Dr. Zabawa said to be carried out.

We also want you to work toward more direct loan authority for family
farmers and farmers in this room, because we have difficulties getting
guaranteed loans because of discrimination in economic as well as racial
discrimination against small producers. And so expanding guaranteed
loans does not help the smallest and poorest farmers. And we have many
others we will put in a full statement to you.

MODERATOR: Thank you. And, as mentioned, you can put \-- don\'t forget
\-- if you\'ve got your comments, there\'s boxes back here \-- they will
be picked up and recorded. Thank you.

Yes, ma\'am?

MS. BERNICE CARRA ATCHISON (sp): Mr. Secretary, my name is Bernice Carra
Atchison (sp) of Jemison, Alabama. I am from the Black Farmers of
Chilton County, Alabama. I am from Chilton County, Alabama, where we
have proven to Congress there was no notice for the whole county for the
Pigford black farmers lawsuit.

Well, we did not receive timely distribution of aid and assistance of
federal financing and notice of federal programs in our county. I ask
the question: Will there be a market if you shut out the small farmer
and have lawyers like Mr. Sitkoff representing you without a license.

Where we as black farmers go to our USDA for financing, where we are
told there is no funds available, how can we have the next generation of
farmers with no funding? Farmers does feed the people. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, ma\'am?

MS. CAROLYN PICKETT: My name is Carolyn Pickett. I\'m a resident of
Selma, Dallas County, Alabama. I\'m representing my organization, Women
in Land Ownership, which encompasses a group of women across a 32-state
area. This is our concern: There is a need for a plan for responsible
development to include education and training for women who are current
local farmers as well as potential farmers on the different forms of
farm management practices, the need for growing and consuming fresh
foods, the ability to maintain a good standard of living through
efficient farming, and the importance of food safety management. There
must be a concentrated effort for gender mainstreaming of women into the
culture of land ownership now. In any community where one segment,
entity or gender is excluded from becoming empowered, the entire
community suffers a loss. Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, sir?

MR. WILLIAM EARL TAUBER (sp): Yes, my name is William Earl Tauber and
I\'m speaking on behalf of the Alabama Coalition Against Hunger, the
Alabama Council on Human Relations. The core mission of the Coalition
Against Hunger is to end hunger and malnutrition in Alabama. As such,
ACAH, on behalf of those suffering from hunger, malnutrition and other
food and nutrition related circumstances, we are a clearinghouse of
information about food, nutrition, related issues of the day. We provide
programs for addressing and eliminating negative food nutrition related
circumstances and a vehicle for ensuring that those eligible for
government and other food nutrition related assistance have an
opportunity to receive them.

Food insecurity, food stamps and school breakfast are among the key
issues that we address on a daily basis. While we assist many thousands
of Alabama residents in these areas, there\'s still an awful long way to
go. More precisely food insecurity affects 10 percent of Alabama
households from 1997 to 1999, 11.9 percent from 1999 to 2001, and
currently 12.5 percent. In addition, 3.2 percent of that 12.5 percent
are food insecure with hunger. Food stamps is the nation\'s leading
defense against hunger, but many people who are eligible to receive them
do not receive them. The latest estimates are that only 60 percent of
the people eligible to receive food stamps are actually receiving them.
Breakfast, which is part of the National School Lunch Act, is essential
for children to be alert and ready to learn when they go to school. Yet
fewer than half of the low-income children who receive school lunch also
get a school breakfast. There is the old adage that conveys the message
that it is better to teach a man to fish because then he can feed
himself for a lifetime, then to give a man a fish so that he can eat for
a day. We do not agree. We say teach a man to fish so that he can feed
himself for a lifetime, but while you\'re teaching him give him a fish
so that he can eat for the day and have the mental and physical capacity
to learn. That is, don\'t pull funding from food stamps and other food
and nutrition programs until you come up with another way to guarantee
Alabama\'s impoverished consistent \-- have access to sufficient
quantities and qualities of nutritious food. ACAH, Alabama Coalition
Against Hunger\'s alternative means of addressing that is a community
garden.

MODERATOR: Can you wrap up, please?

MR. TAUBER: Yes, I will, and I will leave my comments in the box. We set
up individual gardens and what we do want to do is to support our
farmers, rather than pay farmers not to farm, put money into rural
Alabama where many of these 670,000 residents that are impoverished can
receive the benefits of what the farmers produce. Let\'s be creative.
Join us in community garden projects and other projects that can help
the unemployed and in the meantime don\'t forget the food stamps and
other food and nutrition programs that are a quality lifeline for
low-income Alabamians. Please, no cuts. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, ma\'am?

MS. KATHY HORNE: Mr. Secretary, I appreciate the opportunity to comment
this afternoon on question number five. My name is Kathy Horne. I\'m the
executive director of the Alabama Rural Water Association. My background
includes working one on one with public water and waste-water systems in
rural and small-town Alabama for over 25 years.

There are over 600 public water utilities, and another 150 waste-water
systems in our state. From the total 600 water utilities, 452 are
located in the rural areas of Alabama\'s urban populated areas of 10,000
or less; 155 water systems serve less than 500 customers. Many of these
water systems were initially constructed with USDA funds. Their service
to rural residents of our state is crucial in that it provides a clean,
safe, dependable supply of potable drinking water to the people in these
rural areas daily. However, the strength and the viability of the water
and waste-water systems as well as the rural community lies heavily in
their ability to receive financial support through the USDA Rural
Development Loan and Grant Program. Low-interest loans or grant funds
have provided in the past the support necessary to upgrade, expand and
improve upon aging infrastructure and system components that have now in
many cases been in operation for over 30 years.

We\'ve seen the quality of life in rural Alabama dramatically improve
because of the USDA loan and grant assistance. Without the help of USDA
Rural Development programs to assist financially in our rural areas, our
rural communities will suffer. Upgrades within public water and
waste-water systems must continue, but the revenue generated by the
limited customer base doesn\'t always provide revenue sufficient to
properly maintain the distribution system.

A potable supply of drinking water is the greatest resource available to
man. But our drinking water systems must be maintained for continuing
growth, enhanced economic development in rural areas, and it cannot be
maintained without loan and grant assistance. We ask that you not only
continue USDA loan and grant programs, but that that funding be
increased for the future of our rural areas. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, ma\'am?

MS. ROSEMARY ARMSTEAD: Yes, my name is Rosemary Armstead, and I am from
Selma, Alabama. And I work for the Selma Housing Authority. And I\'m
also \-- it\'s over a group of people that is the senior, the disabled
and the handicapped. And I just have a couple of questions just to say
to Mr. Secretary that I\'m constantly \-- you know, I am constantly
confronted with from these people.

And my first question would be: How can \$10 worth of food stamps help
an individual from month to month? And so you know the questions I\'m
asking you, Mr. Secretary, is to take it into consideration. I would
like for you to take it back to Washington and see if some door could be
opened.

Also, I would like to ask with the WIC vouchers, is there a door that
can be opened that they would add vegetables to that WIC voucher?

And my last question would be \-- and that seniors 55 and older to
receive WIC vouchers. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, sir.

MR. LEON DRAPER: My name is Leon Draper, Marshall County, on the ECO
sign up issue. If everybody has to go to the ECO sign up issue and the
complexity of it, how are we going to do it? Are you going to give us
all computers? Or it\'s too complex. But that\'s my concern. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Yes, sir?

MR. JOSEPH BROWN: Yes, I would like to say good evening to everybody,
Mr. Secretary, and thanks for coming. My name is Joseph B. Brown from
Abel, Alabama, and I would like to make a comment that as young black
beginning farmers we\'re being served the small miniature version of the
fine vineyard wine of a miracle. And I\'m also a recipient of the black
farmer settlement. And I also have injunction relief. And I put in three
applications since 2001 to buy 550 acres of land, and I was denied the
application. And when the application went in, the loan officer said it
will sit and they\'re lying about I didn\'t sign the application and I
didn\'t call to check up on it.

Since then I have reapplied to buy the whole 500 acres of land, and
Tuskegee has been helping me to buy the land. And when I went to the
banker, the banker told me \-- the designated banker for USDA \-- to go
across the street where I bank and get a denial letter. Since then,
Tuskegee University has been working with me on this thing. We found a
banker that said my credit was better here, and he would lend me any
amount of money that I wanted to. They told him he wasn\'t qualified to
lend me that type of money. I have injunction relief \-- a federal judge
that I\'m qualified for the loan, yet still it\'s going on five years I
haven\'t received. If you can do something \-- somebody needs to do
something. It\'s wrong. And anybody can see that, just like it was in
the \'60s when black people weren\'t given the right to vote. Now it\'s
the same thing. We\'re being denied for economic efficiency and as an
economic for people that can produce for America. America is the
greatest country in the world. Besides the problem that we have, we\'re
still the greatest in the world. Something needs to be done! Thank you
very much.

(Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, sir.

MR. JOHN CLYDE RIGGS: I\'m John Clyde Riggs, executive director of the
Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission. It\'s a 10-county economic
development district located in southwest Alabama. Mr. Secretary, we\'re
honored to have you in Alabama today.

I work for 10 of the most economically challenged counties in Alabama,
and I\'m here to address question number five, as well as some commodity
and USDA credit issues as they pertain to the elderly.

Our office is the recipient of an intermediate relending program loan
from USDA. It\'s done tremendous good in our area, loaning money to
small businesses, helping create jobs, keep businesses open. That\'s a
valuable program. Our office also packages USDA grant applications for
the community facilities program as well as the Rural Business
Enterprise Grant program, and is the recent recipient of a Rural
Business Enterprise grant, which will establish a business in Camden,
Alabama, that will promote goods, crafts and things made in the Black
Belt. These are valuable programs, worthy of an increase in funding.

And, finally, let me say, concerning the USDA credits that go to the
Older Americans Act\'s programs \-- Meals on Wheels, congregate meal
sites \-- this amount needs to be increased, as does the commodity
farmers market program that provides food for the elderly. This is a
great program that allows the farmers to produce food and receive income
for it, and the elderly also receives this food through vouchers. This
is a program that\'s funded ridiculously low and needs to be increased.
Again, thank you for hearing our comments and being here today.
(Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, ma\'am?

MS. SHERRY CAMPBELL: I\'m Sherry Campbell. I\'m from Tuscumbia, Alabama,
the northwest corner of the state. I\'m the director for Shoals Culinary
Center, which is the satellite of the Shoals Entrepreneurial Center. And
I\'m here to thank Mr. Secretary, the USDA, and Director Steve Pelham
for supporting the idea of our executive director Jerry Davis.

Shoals Culinary Center is one of about 20 kitchen incubators nationwide,
and the only one in Alabama. The USDA initial investment enabled the
start-up of this specialty food incubator in 2001, and allowed us to
find other partners for equipment, training, and provided time for us to
become operational. Once we became operational, we have been able to
grow and to assist our clients in growing new businesses. We now have 15
food businesses that employ over 80 people with annual sales of over
half a million dollars. We are also a resource for other existing food
businesses throughout the state. We\'re serving clients in seven
counties, with product distribution in 16 states. We have clients that
have been featured on CBS, the Early Show, Turner Broadcasting, National
Public Radio, Alabama Public Radio and Television, and several state
newspapers and magazines. We have numerous client success stories, and
our most recent is Mook's Cheese Straws, who has had over 100 percent
increase in sales this year, and in the past three months has added two
major distributors, Sysco Foods and Alabama Home Products, which is a
major regional distributor to over 130 large retailers. With two cheese
straw companies operating in our incubator, the extruder manufacturer
refers to us as the \"cheese straw capital of the world.\" This was
achieved because of Commissioner Ron Sparks and his staff at the Alabama
Department of Agriculture.

Lastly, we were able to start an upscale farmers market and to become
part of the Alabama farmers market trail. We have music, cooking demos
and white tents that provide another venue for the sales of our
clients\' products in recognition of our center. Through this market, we
have been able to assist three of the farmers in opening value-added
businesses, one of which is a hydroponic facility. Thank you.

(Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you. Yes, sir.

MR. DOUG TRATHAM (sp): Mr. Secretary, I\'m Doug Tratham (sp). I\'m a
farmer from Calhoun County. Concerning the new Farm Bill, I would like
to ask that as far as farm payments, that we try to get those payments
tied more to production. In the past Farm Bills we\'ve always tried to
identify large farmers versus small farmers, or family farms versus
corporate farmers. We need to identify producers versus non-producers,
and get the money in the producers\' hands.

My next issue is as far as every year when the Farm Bill comes up, the
farmers get a black eye, because when the local newspaper, such as mine,
prints what my farm subsidy was, it looks like I got a half a million
dollars over five years. We need you and the other people in USDA to
promote the Farm Bill as a subsidy to the consumer for a safe and cheap
food supply, not just money in the farmer\'s pocket.

My next issue is \-- and this may get over into the energy bill a little
bit \-- but early \'70s, when we had our first energy crisis, they said
that using farm-related commodities would make gasoline and diesel fuel
too expensive. Well, gasoline and diesel fuel is too expensive, so that
is no longer an argument. We need this country\'s pipelines full of
renewable fuel sources that we as farmers can produce.

And my last issue is concerning my kids. In my area, there is a lot of
development potential. If we are not able as farmers to buy some of our
farmland, they will not have a future to farm on, and when we are
leasing land that lease payment is a tax deduction. But if we are forced
to buy that land to save it from development, that land payment is no
longer a tax deduction, and that hurts us. And I would like to see
something put in there where when an actual producer has to buy land or
is buying land, he gets some form of credit back, so he gives up his
lease payment and it goes to a land payment. Thank you, sir. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, sir?

MR. DENNIS BRAGG: My name is Dennis Bragg, and I\'m from north Alabama.
And, Mr. Johanns, in north Alabama we need two things \-- you may know
it. One of them is we build rockets and we grow cotton. And the reason
the things I\'m going to share with you is from a group that I put
together, and the reason I put the group together \-- it\'s kind of
referring to the \"black eye\" that Doug gets, and sometimes the rest of
us get. But when I sit in church, and I can feel somebody beaming that
look in the back of my head, to say, well, when I read in the Sunday
paper, Mr. Bragg got X amount of dollars. Well, I put a group together
that consists of 98 percent of the people that don\'t farm. You visited
with the 2 percent. I\'m out visiting with the 98. And when I\'ve shared
with them what this money does, whether it\'s through nutrition, all the
way down to a Step II program, they think it\'s money well spent.

When I shared with the group on payment limitations and they say, well,
if I work 30 hours and he works 30 and I work 50, but your payment
limitation says you need to be paid just like the guy who worked 30 \--
they understand, because they get paid by the hour. We\'d like to get
paid by the acre or that support be paid by the acre, because when I
went to Indiana and heard about the family farms \-- I sat in on a forum
there \-- it\'s family-oriented. Well, my farm has 12 families on it.
They\'ve worked about 20 years with my granddad, my dad, and now myself.

And it\'s not \-- let me change subjects before I run out of time \--
but when I came to here, there\'s a grocery store down the road, and the
name of it was Global Market. And we hear a lot about opening up global
opportunities. Well, when that Chinaman gets that job from Macon County
or Madison County, the first thing he buys is not at the Global Market
there in Tuskegee. It\'s there in China. And I just want to express the
policies that are set in D.C., need to address it on a very minute level
down to Macon County and Madison County. Okay, thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, sir?

MR. JERRY ADAMS: Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to address this
forum. Mr. Secretary, we appreciate you being here to listen to our
concerns. My name is Jerry Adams. I am a area field representative for
Dairy Farmers of America. We are a milk marketing cooperative, and I
obviously represent the dairy farmers of Alabama and our dairy farmer
members. They regret very much their inability to be here today, but
they\'re at home milking their cows, and they have asked me as their
spokesman to come and express their concern over a few items.

Mr. Secretary, we\'re asking Congress and the USDA to consider and take
action on the following six items.

Number one, to floor the Class I price at \$13 nationally. This would
help all dairymen in the federal order system when Class III and Class
IV prices decline below reasonable levels.

Number two, to implement a direct delivery differential to cover the
cost of moving milk produced in the Southeast to plants beyond the local
market.

Number three, to increase the transportation credit paid by processors
used to offset the cost of supplemental milk deliveries.

Number four, to regulate large producer\\handlers on a national basis.

Number five, we ask that Congress direct the Secretary of Agriculture to
not allow the Class III and Class IV prices to fall below the support
price.

And, number six, we ask that Congress limit the Department of
Agriculture to no more than one price adjustment per year in the price
support program.

Our dairy farmer members feel that these issues are vital to their
ability to successfully produce milk and maintain a viable dairy
industry in the Southeast. Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, sir.

MR. BILL BRIDGEFORD (sp): My name is Bill Bridgeford (sp). I\'m from
Tanner, Alabama. My brothers, my niece, nephew, we farm cotton, corn,
soybeans and wheat in north Alabama. As an African American farmer,
black farmer, I\'d like to, if you\'ve already formed or going to form a
commission or advisory council to discuss the policies and programs that
will address the specific needs of the black farmer, if you already have
a group like that or going to form one, I would like to work with you
and help serve in that capacity.

Secondly, when it comes to the forum, sir, my comments are addressed
toward item number three of the questions. In your Farm Service Agency,
on the county committee, you have a minority advisor. And I think you
should allow \-- you should give that minority advisor voting rights if
you want to continue to serve the black community in the best possible
way. And there are a lot of issues that affect the black farmer, and
financing is not necessarily the most crucial one. And if you were to
have that council, I would like to present some ideas that would not
cost you any money, that would encourage new young black men and women
to get into agriculture.

As a family farm, we receive government payments. And I\'d like to say
that if it wasn\'t for the farm program just like it is now, we probably
wouldn\'t be able to continue farming. When you consider the prices, how
much prices have risen in the past few years \-- the price of diesel,
the price of fertilizer, technology, seed \-- they\'re all up
dramatically. And so I would just like to say that when it comes to
price supports, if anything they should be increased instead of
decreased. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, sir?

MR. JIMMY MILLER: I\'m Jimmy Miller from Blount County, Alabama, cotton
and grain farmer. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for coming and allowing us
to give you our opinions on the next Farm Bill.

I\'m been farming for 41 years, and I\'ll have to say that I think this
current 2002 Farm Bill, even though it may have some places we would
like to see it adjusted, is probably the most \-- given us the most
security on the years with the low farm prices of any Farm Bill I\'ve
ever farmed under. And I say that from having a long price on cotton and
grains, and the event of the countercyclical payment which only comes
into play on years that the prices are below production costs.

And I also would like to mention that we talk about getting young
farmers involved or how you\'re going to get new farmers to come on. One
way is when we have a Farm Bill drafted and our Congress passes it and
it\'s signed into law is to leave it alone for the period of the bill.
You can\'t make plans for capital investments on a one-year basis, not
knowing what\'s going to be changed next year. I would think that\'s one
of the main things that would encourage lenders and young people to
consider farming.

I think most of the other notes I had have been covered by others, and I
appreciate you listening. Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, sir?

MR. BART MCCORMICK (sp): Mr. Secretary, my name is Bart McCormick (sp).
I\'m a grain farmer from Giles County, Tennessee. And my comments are
going to be concerning question number six, and specifically renewable
fuels. I\'m spearheading and represent a group from the middle Tennessee
and northern Alabama area that are \-- have collected some contributions
to start a feasibility study about putting an ethanol plant in the
Decatur area. Watched the ethanol industry bloom and die from the prices
in the \'70s.

I feel that if we can use the farm program to promote renewable fuels
that we can stabilize the farm economy, we can create profitability. And
if we do that, then we\'re going to reduce the need for payments, we\'re
going to attract these young people back to it, and we\'re going to make
ourselves competitive. The only down side is that we\'re probably going
to upset some Arabs. (Laughter.) I can live with that.

The second thing is that the United States Department of Agriculture
needs to follow a trend started by TVA. They were getting some bad
press, negative comments. I feel that this program should have some type
of an ad campaign, something to educate people that we\'re not taking
this money and going to the Bahamas, or buying yachts, or going to the
French Riviera \-- that we are doing this to support this country to
employ the people of this country.

Your department with that money could promote that and get that before
the people to where we wouldn\'t be looked at so negative about these
payments. Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, sir?

MR. WALT COCKER (sp): Good afternoon, Mr. Secretary, and thank you for
coming and giving us a chance to air our feelings about this farm
policy. I\'m Walt Cocker (sp), and I\'m from Eufaula, Alabama, where I
farm with my brother, and until his death this February, my father. We
raise cotton, peanuts, cattle and grain. And as bad as I hate to say it,
I\'m dependent on this farm policy for profit in my operation. And it\'s
because of that fact that I\'m here today to speak to you.

The current farm program, while not perfect, is working to maintain
profitability in our operation. It is my hope that the current program
will be allowed to go to its completion in the \'07 crop year without
any changes. I understand that there are budget concerns and world trade
issues that are bringing pressure to change this program. And to that I
say let\'s stay the course. We have a program that\'s working. Let\'s
keep it there until the end of its completion.

Many producers have made plans and commitments based on this program
going to its end in \'07, and it would be devastating for some of them
if this program was changed now.

Looking ahead to the next Farm Bill, I hope that as much of the current
program can be taken forward as possible. This includes such basic
concepts as the direct payment and now the countercyclical payment, the
marketing loan program. And I would hope there are no changes in the
current payment eligibility rules or in the payment limits.

There are a couple of changes that I might suggest though to the next
program, and one of these you heard several times today so far, is tying
the payments more to the producer than to the land. Another problem is
just probably to reduce or eliminate the payments on land that is not
actually producing program crops. There\'s a lot of that that goes on. I
think that would be a place for savings.

Today farming is a big business, and we must have a stable and sound
policy on which to base our business decisions. And we have that in the
2002 Farm Bill. I hope that we\'ll be allowed to continue until the 2007
crop is over, and then at that time we have another program that will
give us the stability and support to continue to produce the food and
fiber for this nation and most of the rest of the world. Thank you.
(Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, ma\'am?

MS. DONI INGRAM: Mr. Secretary, my name is Doni Ingram, and I\'m
director of the Crenshaw County Economic Authority. I\'m here for
twofold \-- to address question number five on your list. Number one is
to thank you. Because of Crenshaw County, a county of 15,000 total
population, partnering with USDA, with your community facilities loan
grant, your rural business enterprise grant, your rural business
opportunity grant and your intermediary relending program, we have in
the last eight years created 1,800 new jobs in that small county, we\'ve
recruited 10 new industries, and all because you made us competitive. We
can compete with the metro areas of this state by using the incentives
in these programs. I urge you in your new bill, number two, is to
continue these programs, because they do make rural Alabama competitive
for the job. Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, sir?

MR. KWANGMORE BLEND HILL (sp): Hi, my name is Kwangmore Blend Hill (sp).
I\'m the Secretary of state of the Student Government Association here
at Tuskegee, and on behalf of the student body and the president and
chief of staff, I\'d like to thank the Secretary for choosing this
institution as the host of this forum.

And I\'d just like to quickly echo some of the sentiments I\'ve already
heard earlier today, that as we move into an information and
technological age, in order for the Department of Agriculture and for
the entire agricultural sector in the economy to remain relevant, it\'s
going to be important for the Department of Agriculture and all the
organizations represented here today that represent farmers, to present
to young people the viability of a career in agriculture, or else the
United States will very soon see the day when all this produce and all
this food comes from foreign soil. Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, sir?

MR. BUTCH WILSON: Mr. Secretary, my name is Butch Wilson. I\'m a catfish
producer. I represent 234 catfish producers in the central Alabama Black
Belt region. And today we\'re finding ourselves competing in a global
market more every day. And one of the things I don\'t want you to
overlook is our land-grant universities. We received about \$2 million
this year for the study of genomes \-- (audio break for tape change) \--

MR. HARLEY THOMPSON (sp): Harley Thompson (sp). I\'m from Lauderdale
County. I have the privilege to represent the sheep and meat goat
producers in this state. As such, I would ask you to please strongly
support the mandatory price reporting for the land and sheep industry.

Also, from the looks of this room, my mama and probably your mama and
everybody else\'s mother knew where they got their food from. That is
not the case today, and I would strongly urge you to support a
country-of-origin labeling. I\'m a proud Alabama farmer, and I\'m proud
to be an American farmer. Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, sir?

MR. DEXTER GILBERT (sp): Mr. Secretary, my name is Dexter Gilbert (sp),
from Jackson County, Florida, the owner and operator of Gilbert & Sons
Farm. I farm around 1,500 acres of cotton and peanuts, and my concern is
about it is too much \-- the Farm Bill is great. I love the new Farm
Bill. But there\'s too much in the Farm Bill that represents the
nonfarmers. The producer has too many problems. Take for instance me. I
have around 35 farms over 1,500 acres, and if I don\'t get all the
owners to agree, I don\'t get what I deserve and what\'s there for me.
So in the new Farm Bill, I would like to see more for the producers not
having to go through the owners for the signatures and all that.

And back to the guarantees of prices, it is impossible to raise peanuts
for \$355 a ton. My grandfather raised them 30 years ago for that,
cotton at 50 cents per pound. We just need more help in today\'s
farming. Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, sir?

MR. CHARLES HOLMES (sp): Mr. Secretary, my name is Charles Holmes. I\'m
back again. I spoke to you earlier as a father. I speak to you this time
as a conservationist. I am speaking on behalf of the Alabama Soil and
Water Conservation Districts, and also I am the national director for
the National Association of Conservation Districts Forestry Committee.
There are two items that I want to address.

In the 2002 Farm Bill, conservation districts helped a whole lot in
giving guidance in forming that Farm Bill. We take credit for it, and we
appreciate it. But we want to take an active role in the formation of
the 2007 Farm Bill. We\'re out there, we\'re grass-roots. There are five
of us in every county in the United States. What a wonderful forum to
bring things up from the bottom to the top.

I do want to address some of the concerns that we have seen in the 2002
Farm Bill. One is we have mandated or asked NRCS to go out and provide
technical assistance on all of these different programs. They don\'t
have enough staff to do what needs to be done. We\'re lacking the
abilities to \-- how I\'d like to say it \-- we aren\'t balanced. We\'re
having to use so much of our technical help in these counties doing work
for the programs that people are coming in wanting conservation
practices on their land that are not participating in programs. We\'re
not able to provide the assistance to them. And that includes the
conservation districts. You know, we work together \-- we\'ve been a
partnership since 1937.

The other item that I wanted to talk about \-- and I\'m also chairman of
the National Association of Conservation Districts Forestry Committee,
so I\'ve got to talk about trees a little bit. In Alabama we can grow
trees. In the Southeast we can grow trees, and we\'re going to have to
find more ways to use farm programs to encourage people to grow trees in
different ways and out-of-the-box type things. And we\'re going to have
to look at agri-forestry practices and things like that. And we\'re
going to have to plant trees in \-- Leo is not here, but I\'ve got a
friend of mine that\'s doing both \-- they\'re growing trees and
they\'re doing grass at the same time. Okay, thank you. I appreciate you
coming. Thank you for coming to Alabama. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

I think we\'ve got three people on this side, three people on this side.
Is there anybody else that\'s not in line that has a comment in
reference to the Farm Bill? Okay, after these six people, we\'re going
to throw it open for anything.

Yes, sir?

MR. JERRY WISE: Thank you. Welcome. Good afternoon, Mr. Secretary. My
name is Jerry Wise. I\'m from Geneva County, which is in the southeast
corner of the state of Alabama. I farm roughly 350 acres of peanuts and
used to farm a little cotton, and it got where I couldn\'t make a profit
at it, so I quit it. I do a little corn farming now, so rotation is
important to us.

One of the biggest concerns we have as farmers is that we got caught
this year in high fuel prices. In the next Farm Bill, as we develop it,
could there be a possibility, a way of coming together where we have
some sort of control of how our cost of production, as it increases,
also the value of our crop increases from the support level that\'s
given to us by the government. You know, this present Farm Bill we\'re
under, I\'m pretty sure there\'s no way we could really go back and
reaccess it to where we can come up with the cost of the increased cost
in fuel costs.

I also run an aero-application business \-- I\'m a crop duster, and have
been doing it for 26 years, and I deal with about 400 to 450 different
farmers in my area, and that\'s a great concern to them, is that you
know they don\'t have any real control over their cost of production,
because as my fuel costs increase to me when I was flying, I passed it
on to the farmers. And the farmer has nowhere to pass it on to \-- he
winds up kind of like the slide theory \-- the kid sliding down the
slide, and at the end he hits the ground, he knocks out a hole \-- that
farmer is a hole in the slide. So it\'s got to come up somewhere or
another with some sort of mathematical decision or whatever it takes to
figure in and factor that when the cost of production, it\'s whatever a
land-grant university considers a cost of production of what a commodity
is, whether it be cotton, corn, peanuts, soybeans or what have you. Then
as those cost of productions increase, we should be able to increase the
bottom line of the government support programs to us based on the cost
of production. Everybody else gets a cost-of-living raise. I don\'t see
why the farmer can\'t. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, ma\'am?

MS. ALICE PARRIS (sp): Yes, Mr. Secretary, my name is Alice Parris (sp),
and I\'m bringing remarks today on behalf of Ms. Patricia Clay, chairman
of the Macon County Health Care Authority, who had to leave.

Ms. Clay would like everyone here today to know that if you have a
medical emergency while you\'re here, you will have to seek medical care
elsewhere. However, on your way of out of town, less than one mile from
here, you will have passed our brand-new ambulatory health care center.
You will not get treatment in that beautiful new facility because of a
\$300,000 need in order to have it ready to open and provide the care
that you might need in order to be stabilized to go to a hospital. Our
search for a physician to man that facility has spanned more than one
and a half years. The situation here in Tuskegee is not different than
that faced by other rural communities. In order to foster rural economic
growth, we must attend to the infrastructure of our communities.
Families, and especially seniors, need to feel secure about medical
care. The Rural Communities Facilities Loan and Grant program needs to
be expanded to provide for the following:

Expand eligible activities to include those that help rural communities
recruit and retain physicians. Health care is an economic development
activity that most rural communities need. It has been found that each
physician generates \$1.5 million per year to the local economy. The
addition of a doctor to a community, the infusion of new capital, better
access to health care and peace of mind for rural Americans will go a
long way toward stabilizing rural communities. Telemedicine can also
bridge some gaps in access when a physician is available.

And, number two, partnership arrangements between local communities and
USDA should be considered wherein USDA investments are bought out when
the related services become profitable.

And, number three, most rural communities are financially strapped for
cash. USDA should consider in-kind services or space costs as matching
share in lieu of cash contributions. Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER: Good afternoon. I want to welcome you, Mr. Johanns. I also want
to give you greetings from a fellow transplanted Cornhusker. So we do
\-- we can survive down here. But I do want to say that you made an
observation when you came in that it was very green \-- we\'ve obviously
been getting a lot of rain. Having grown up in Nebraska, I know what
droughts are like. And having been here in Alabama a couple of years
now, I also know there\'s a saying down here that at first I didn\'t
believe, but now I know it\'s true: \"You\'re only a week away from
drought.\" The soils down here are such that without adequate rainfall a
drought can happen very, very quickly. But what\'s also true is we\'re
also only about an hour away from a flood. So we have a very interesting
balance to make in here. To go along with that balance, one of the
things that has been happening in the last 30 years or so is that
there\'s been a policy of western water development and western
agricultural development, by taking water to where the agriculture is.
And what I\'m suggesting to you is maybe we need to look at reversing
that and bring agriculture to where the water is. We have adequate water
supply down here, it\'s just that it\'s not necessarily always timing is
correct.

One of the things we\'re looking at at Auburn University is the
feasibility of irrigation development within this state. And looking at
having irrigation infrastructure in such a way so that we can have water
when we need that to alleviate that, maybe possibly as small as a
one-week drought, can greatly stabilize the income and increase the
profitability of agriculture within this state. So I want to thank you
for your time and hope you enjoy your stay. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, sir?

MR. EUGENE HALL: Mr. Secretary, my name is Eugene Hall. I live in west
Alabama. I\'m with the West Alabama Farmers Association. We\'re one of
those co-ops under the umbrella of the Federation of Southern
Cooperative Land Assistance Fund. I would like to address a problem that
I\'m seeing in my neighborhood. There is no youngsters between the age
of 18 and 35. They\'ve all gone elsewhere looking for work \-- as soon
as high school, they take off. We are trying to work with the West
Alabama Farmers Association to try to develop jobs for them, teach then
how to live off the land, and how to grow crops that are profitable.

Working with the state of Alabama \-- I saw Mr. Wombie (sp) here \-- he
came to our area and worked with us in setting up a farmers market, a
place where local farmers can sell their goods. One of the main problems
we have is that we are competing with people from Mexico, Argentina,
wherever, because the peddlers go to the Birmingham market, buy product,
stop along the route coming to our market and they sell them there. If
you ask them if they\'re homegrown \-- \"Yes.\" Whose home?

As we grow product, we\'re having to compete there and the prices that
they are asking just knock us right out of the ballpark. We need your
help in helping us be able to take advantage of the federal programs
that would help us to grow our farms.

You would think I\'m asking for a hand-out \-- no, I\'m not. I\'m asking
for a guarantee. I\'d like to see where small farmers, limited-income
farmers, may come to the government with their plans to go on the EQIP
or whatever the other program is, and get some guarantees so they can
get the money to get this done \-- not give it to us, just guarantee the
loan. And as these practices are being carried out, then the lenders
will be paid.

So as you go back to Washington, take back with you the small farmer who
would love to stay on the land, and one who is my father-in-law, 97
years old, who said, \"When I die, I guess the land will be sold,\"
because if you leave it to the youth, they have nothing to come back to.
There\'s so much money being offered for it by the professors or people
who want to set up hunting refuges that they just can\'t acquire any
more, and that small part is just not enough. Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, sir?

MR. LEE LACKHELT (sp): My name is Lee Lackhelt (sp). I\'m a forest
landowner in mostly north Alabama. My mother-in-law is a wheat and
cattle rancher out in Montana. My father was a commercial beekeeper.
I\'m a graduate forester.

My biggest concern here is I don\'t think that the things you\'ve been
hearing today reflect what I would like to think America is. And I would
like you to consider that when you create any of these programs, that
you consider the fact that if you create something you don\'t want to
harm a private enterprise. So always keep in your mind that the free
market system is the way to go \-- whenever possible, create a program
that encourages but doesn\'t give disincentives to other people who may
be trying to same thing on their own. Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you.

Yes, ma\'am?

MS. KATHY HORNE: Mr. Secretary, I had one additional comment regarding
question number six that I\'d like to discuss for a moment. Again, my
name is Kathy Horne, and I\'m representing public water and waste-water
utilities throughout the state. My comment \-- it applies to question
six regarding small towns and rural communities. This concerns the
unique nature of their location. \"Rural\" in most cases refers to a
remote area. As resident or a business located in a remote area of the
state, I\'ve identified just a few concerns that I\'d like to discuss,
the first being security.

We need more remote sensing, early-warning technology that can give
prompt warning of security breaches in isolated areas. Vulnerability
assessments should be continued, as well as emergency response plans.
However, the implementation of these plans is even more important, and
they can\'t be implemented without eligible funding. My question is in
the 2007 Farm Bill can security needs of water utilities be addressed as
an eligible project for funding through the USDA Rural Development loan
and grant program?

Secondly, disaster relief \-- and we do appreciate all of the federal
emergency grants that are made available during these times. But power
outages are one of the most serious problems we encounter in the rural
areas. USDA could assist greatly by including financial resources for
the loan and grant program to fund the much needed generators in
particular to water systems so that a potable supply of water could be
maintained during these times of disaster.

And last, I would like to address a research issue. An emerging problem
that I see is that many rural drinking water systems are becoming
bedroom communities for metropolitan agencies. There\'s an increasing
need to provide waste-water treatment in these areas. There\'s a
desperate need for research into innovative approaches for incorporating
waste-water collection and treatment in these remote operations. The
cost currently for the distance involved between house to house for
waste-water treatment is excessive, and more than any small town or
rural community can afford. There must be a better way to improve upon
this much-needed service for our rural areas.

I\'d also like to say quickly that I do thank the state USDA Rural
Development office, Steve Pelham and his staff members, for the great
job that they do here in the state of Alabama. And, Mr. Secretary, thank
you so much for being in the state today. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Is this a Farm Bill, or just or are we shooting from the hip
now?

TUSKEGEE MAYOR JOHNNY FORD: I shoot from the hip, head, wherever I need
to shoot from. Seriously, no, I\'m the humble mayor of this great city,
Johnny Ford, and I wanted to rise and say to you, governor, Mr.
Secretary, I join our commissioner of agriculture and governor and all
of the other officials in welcoming you to Alabama. It\'s good to have a
governor in that seat \-- someone who knows about local issues facing
small farms, particularly minority farmers who have really been
struggling down through the years. You\'re at the right place, Tuskegee
University a place where Dr. George Washington Carver started all of
this, the extension service with Mr. Campbell, Dr. Campbell and others.
So welcome, Mr. Secretary. If you need us to come and testify in
Congress when the bill is being heard in the House and Senate, we\'re
ready. And so I want to commend you and the president for having a
Secretary who\'s willing to come and sit and listen to the American
people and the people of Alabama and the farmers. We\'ve not had this in
the past. That\'s a step in the right direction. Thank you. I\'ve been
to Nebraska \-- Alabama is better \-- but thank you for coming.
(Laughter.) (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you very much, mayor, excellent comments, excellent
comments.

I\'m going to just wrap up here with an observation of my own before I
turn it back over to the Secretary for his closing comments.

I haven\'t been to many of these around the country, or any of these
others around the country, Mr. Secretary. But I have been to some other
Listening Sessions in our area, and I\'m telling you folks, I\'ve never
seen a crowd like this at any Listening Session. You are to be commended
to take the time to either come and express your views or to just listen
to concerns of other people in our state.

The one thing, if I take away anything from this, is I think that maybe
we all should realize that there\'s more to the Farm Bill than just farm
subsidies or crop and livestock payments. There\'s lots of benefits that
this Farm Bill has to take under consideration, and that the Secretary
and his staff have to take into consideration. It\'s not just about
farming. But, again, give yourself a round of applause for taking the
time to come and participate. (Applause.)

Mr. Secretary, we said we were going to quit at 3:00. It\'s about 6'
till, but as far as I\'m concerned, you just take as much time as you
want. (Laughter.)

SEC. JOHANNS: Well, I\'m not going to take long. How about a round of
applause for our moderator? He did a great job. (Applause.)

You know, and I agree with your assessment. I thought this was
absolutely a first-class Farm Bill Forum. And I think this is the tenth
one I\'ve done. And they\'ve been good everywhere \-- don\'t get me
wrong \-- but this one was first-class in every way.

I do want to say thank you to the university also. The president has
departed to go on to being the president of this great institution, but
in every way \-- in every way \-- they have just done a tremendous job
of hosting this forum. So we thank them for that.

Mayor, I\'ve got to warn you: in another life I was the mayor. I was a
county commissioner, a city council person, a mayor before I became
governor.

MAYOR FORD: I thought you were. (Laughter.)

SEC. JOHANNS: Yeah. So you better look out. A guy that articulate may be
headed places.

Ladies and gentlemen, it\'s good to be here. I thought maybe I could
offer a couple of comments to maybe summarize and maybe offer some
perspective here.

First, in the area of process and timing, when we announced now some
months ago that we would start Listening Sessions on the 2007 Farm Bill,
we got a comment \-- or two or three \-- from people saying, gosh, it
seems awful early to be working on a Farm Bill that doesn\'t expire
until 2007. Why are you starting so soon? Not really, when you think
about it. We really wanted to get across the country. We felt very, very
strongly that if we were going to do this, it wasn\'t sufficient to do
one or two or three of these; we wanted to cover the country. And we are
doing that.

In order to accomplish that, however, we needed some time. So we figured
we needed all of the remainder of this year to wrap that up. And we
probably will be doing Farm Bill Forums through the end of this year,
maybe even a few in the first part of next year.

We then need some time to absorb and organize what we are hearing on the
website, what we\'ve heard in the Farm Bill Forums, and we need some
time to start working with the House and the Senate on the Farm Bill
process. Now, that\'s probably an assignment then for 2006. Well if it
takes through 2006, then you begin to understand that we weren\'t early
at all, because we really need to get a Farm Bill in place some time
during 2007 \-- and I believe that has to be in the very early part of
2007 \-- so that we can alert the industry, the producers, what this
Farm Bill is going to look like. We can\'t wait 'till they\'ve got all
the crops in, they\'re getting ready to harvest, to tell them what the
Farm Bill is going to be like. So you can kind of see our timing I think
is going to be about right.

Now, what are some of the factors affecting this Farm Bill? Well, one of
the factors is just the reality of budgets. We talked publicly about
that. I noticed the chairman of the House Ag Committee, Chairman
Goodlatte, mentioned that point just a few weeks ago. The budget
situation is different, so that will be one of the factors that we have
to think about.

The next factor is this issue that many of you have addressed, and
that\'s the issue of trade. Let me just offer a thought or two about
that trade issue. One gentleman got up and said, You know, I think the
president has got his priorities all mixed up here, or something mixed
up. There\'s some numbers that really I think bear taking a look at when
you think about trade and where the future is for agriculture. As the
president mentioned, 95 percent of the world\'s population lives outside
of the United States. It\'s only 5 percent of us that live here in the
United States. The second statistic I would share with you is that
American agriculture is the most remarkable success story maybe in the
history of agriculture from the beginning of time. Year after year,
American agriculture gets about 2 percent more productive, while at the
same time our population is growing at about 0.6 percent, and our demand
for food is growing at less than a percent annually. You can see the
disconnect. Already we are move productive than we can consume.

So what happens when that occurs? What happens is you need to find a
market for those products, for those melons, for that cotton, for that
rice, for the corn and soybeans and beef and pork that we heard about
today. About 27 percent of the receipts for agriculture come from that
foreign marketplace \-- about 27 percent. Now, if I were to walk in
today at the start of this forum and say to you, ladies and gentlemen,
I\'ve got a great idea for you, I\'m going to adopt policies that
jeopardize 27 percent of your income. You would throw me out of the
room. You\'d call the president and say we want this guy out of our
state, and you\'d probably say we want him out of our country, because
that\'s literally what we\'re talking about here, is that we have to
adopt policies that recognize that production is exceeding our
consumption by about twice as much every year, and already 27 percent of
our receipts are dependent upon that foreign market.

You hear about the challenges we face in many marketplaces overseas, but
I can point to marketplace after marketplace where we are succeeding
when it comes to agriculture. China is a good example. It\'s
unbelievable the amount of ag products that we\'re shipping to China. It
is just a remarkable story since they entered the WTO a few years ago.

I share these numbers with you because they\'ve become very, very
important as we work on the WTO process that is going on now. We need a
good agreement. We need a good agreement for America\'s farmers and
ranchers. And in many cases, what that means is that we need markets to
open for our products that quite honestly today, because of high tariffs
or other reasons are closed.

And so we can\'t forget that one of the factors that we\'ve got to pay
attention to is that foreign markets \-- that whole competitive issue,
and the whole issue of the WTO process, because that\'s probably going
to come to fruition here \-- we hope, if we get an agreement \--
sometime near the end of this year, first of next year. So you\'re going
to hear discussion about the WTO process. You have already. That\'s
what\'s going on. It\'s a very important process for American farmers
and ranchers.

One last comment, if I might. This, I hope you appreciate, is not the
end of your opportunity to offer input on this Farm Bill. The House
probably will be out there after the first of the year doing some
hearings of their own. They haven\'t announced it yet; but I would
anticipate that. In addition, even if we are rapped up at the USDA with
our nationwide tour, we have a website that really, really is a very
good website. We will keep you posted of what we\'re doing relative to
the Farm Bill, but there is a specific piece of that site devoted to
input on the Farm Bill. So for those of you who had some written
statement \-- and I noticed many of you were reading from that \--
either send that out to us or scan it in so that you can get it on our
website and out to us so we can factor that in as we start thinking
about what this next Farm Bill should look like. Then two, three, four,
five months from now, or whatever, if something occurs to you, we want
to hear from you. Write us or get on that website.

There is real truth, ladies and gentlemen, to Southern hospitality, and
you\'ve given it to me today. God bless you. Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: Thank you. Have a great day. Drive safely.

END