1. BUSH TO SLASH CONSERVATION PROGRAMS?

Sources in Washington, DC reported on Friday (3/2) that the Bush administration, in an effort to find money for massive tax cuts, is about to slash funding for several huge agricultural conservation programs. Notably among these programs is the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP). Since 1990 voluntary programs like these have been responsible for protecting millions of acres of crucial watershed habitats and thousands of species. According to these sources funding for these programs will continue through 2001 and will not be renewed. Not only will this action be devastating to our nation's ecology, it takes away from farmers a voluntary "green" income source and will likely result in increased cropping, overproduction and continued low prices. Ironically, the WRP program was signed into effect by President George Bush, Sr. as part of the 1990 Farm Bill act.

2. BIOTECH TRACES FOUND IN CORN SUPPLY

Last year US consumers became outraged when they learned that a strain of biotech corn not approved for human consumption was found in Taco Bell Taco Shells. Soon afterward, consumer confidence plummeted further when other consumer products, like children's cereals were found to contain the corn. The genetic pollution has now spread even further. According to Marc Kauffman, reporting in the Washington Post (3/1) "Corn seed about to be sold to farmers for this year's crop has been found to contain small amounts of a genetically engineered variety of the grain."

Organic producers and others have long fear this "genetic drift" and the Post article reports, "Seed companies detected the presence of the engineered corn, known as StarLink, while testing their stocks to make sure the seed was free of the biotech variety, which has been approved only for animal consumption because of concerns about its safety for humans." "There may be low levels [of StarLink] in some non-StarLink hybrid corn seed," an Agriculture Department official confirmed yesterday.

3. PRESIDENTIAL "FAST TRACK" COMING BACK FAST

On the trade front, efforts to increase the powers of the president in trade authority are back in a big way - this time in agriculture. Generally referred to as presidential "fast track", efforts to give the president more trade power were soundly defeated in 1996 by a diverse coalition of groups. People feared putting this much power into the hands of the president disrupts the balance of power with Congress. Nevertheless, the idea is back. Tuesday, in his budget address to Congress, president Bush said he would seek increased trade authority. Moreover, there are now two bills in Congress that have "fast track' provisions . While most progressive farmers and livestock producers understand how current trade policy is crippling them, the bills are preposterously named the "Rural America Prosperity Act of 2001." The Senate bill was introduced by Senator Lugar (R-IN); the house version by Congressman Boehner (R-OH). Both bills can be viewed on the Government's website at: http://thomas.loc.gov Senate bill - S 333 House bill - H.R. 627

4. FARM BUREAU IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY

In January of 2000, when Bob Stallman was elected the new president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, a press release was launched which applauded his many merits and accomplishments within the Farm Bureau. One of those mentioned was the fact that in 1998 Stallman was elected chairman of the board of FB BanCorp Bank , a new company that recently began providing financial and banking services in 39 states. See at: http://www.fb.org/2000annual/amnews/election.html While many folks are aware that Farm Bureau is a huge insurance company, few realize they have gotten into banking in a big way. While Stallman resigned as Chairman later in the year, these developments came on the heels of the repeal of the Glass-Stegall act. This legislation was created after the market crash in 1929 for a number of reasons. One of them was to create investment "firewalls" between banking and insurance. Currently little is known about the size of FB BanCorp Bank, but for more information into the Farm Bureau's monolithic insurance and co-operative empire see: http://www.familyfarmer.org/awg.html

To sign on to a call for an investigation into Farm Bureau's business "conflicts of interests" with their farmer members, go to: http://www.defenders.org/rural3.html