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Release No. 0096.03 of
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SECRETARY VENEMAN: "Good morning, Larry, and good morning to all of you who are joining us today for our radio broadcast. We truly appreciate you being with us today on, as Larry mentioned, Agriculture Day, the first day of spring.
"As you know, Operation Iraqi Freedom is underway, and our hearts and minds are with our men and women in uniform, as well as with those in law enforcement who protect us every day here in America.
"Our conflict with the regime of Saddam Hussein is part of President Bush's larger effort to end the threat of terror and restore freedom to the people of Iraq. A coalition of more than 44 countries now supports our efforts, and the number is growing. Those nations understand the threat of Saddam Hussein's weapons to the world and the devastation he has brought upon the Iraqi people.
"The President's decision for a post-Saddam Iraq includes destroying weapons of mass destruction and liberating the people of Iraq. For a brief period after liberation, coalition forces will help provide security and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and basic services.
"The U.S. has already provided significant humanitarian support to the region, to international and non-governmental groups, to prepare for relief efforts. The Bush administration will provide additional relief resources for immediate post-conflict rehabilitation, primarily for the health system.
"Sixty percent of all Iraqis rely on the rations from the Food for Oil Program as their sole source of food. The United States will work with the United Nations and the Security Council to continue the Food for Oil Program under the authority--the primary authority of the United Nations.
"The United States has provided $40 million to the World Food Program for logistics and will soon provide another $20 million.
"The U.S. Department of Agriculture is playing a key role to bring relief to the oppressed people of Iraq. Yesterday, I announced the immediate release of 200,000 tons of wheat for the people of Iraq from the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust. This food aid will be administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Another 400,000 tons will be made available from the Bill Emerson Trust as needed.
"A portion of the wheat from the reserve
will be exchanged for rice so that a combination of commodities will be
available to feed the people of Iraq.
"This humanitarian assistance is a demonstration of our compassion as a nation and of this President's commitment to a free and prosperous Iraq.
"Also, on Wednesday, this administration authorized a similar allocation of 200,000 tons of wheat from the Bill Emerson Trust to help address famine and hunger in Africa, especially in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
"At home, we remain on a high state of alert for the risk of terrorism. We are committed to helping address issues of homeland security, public health, and the safety of our food supply. We at USDA and all of the food and agriculture community must be on alert and must take extra precautions. And for all of your listeners here today, I want to review some of those precautions and then remind you that additional information is available on our website at http://www.usda.gov
"These are some of the things that people should be doing: watch for suspicious activities and report them to law enforcement, be it on the farm, in the transport system, in the processing of food, in the retailing. Every aspect of the food system must have additional vigilance."
"Update your local emergency telephone numbers and keep them handy. Inspect vehicles entering your facilities and your operations, including your farms and ranches, and increase surveillance around your facilities and farms and ranches. And consider restricting public access to farms and processing facilities.
"We are also working with state and private authorities to ensure the increased monitoring of feedlots, stockyards, and import storage areas. The fact is that everyone has a role to play in homeland security.
"Again, I would remind you to access the information on the USDA website for additional information on how you can be alert during this time of increased and heightened alert.
"We appreciate all of those throughout the food chain who have already helped to distribute this information system wide, and we encourage you to keep up those efforts.
"This week we also announced additional steps to modernize our meat inspection program through our existing authorities, regulations, and programs and through potential new enforcement authorities and incentives. The entire food chain must be responsible for ensuring the integrity of our food safety system so that we can maintain consumer confidence in our food supply and protect the public health.
"I want to cover a few more issues before we take questions today. USDA, of course, is continuing to be aggressive in implementing this new farm bill. As you know, the deadline for signup for farmers to update their bases and yields under the Direct and Countercyclical Payment Program ends on April 1st, just a little over a week away. But we encourage anyone who has--is eligible to get into their county offices immediately so that they can reach--reach the county offices before that deadline is here.
"Over 60 percent of the nation's eligible producers have signed up. We expect that as many as one-third will take the default option in the farm bill, leaving only about 10 percent of producers yet to enroll. We are making extraordinary efforts to accommodate all producers to meet the deadline.
"We are also moving aggressively to implement the disaster assistance package, and we will have more details about the implementation of this package to share with you next week. This is, again, a program that has many new aspects, many decisions that need to be made so that it will be implemented appropriately and effectively to get the benefits to our farmers and ranchers.
"Finally, it is appropriate that we talk about our efforts to feed the--that--I'm sorry. Finally, it is appropriate that we talk about our efforts to feed the people of Iraq on National Agriculture Day. America's farmers and ranchers produce the most plentiful, affordable, and safest food anywhere in the world. It is because of this that we can share that bounty with those in need around the world. Our farmers and ranchers lead the world in large part because of their increasing efficiency and their rapid adoption of the best technologies.
"Agriculture Day is also a time to recognize the many other contributions made by the men and women in agriculture. Agriculture is expected to generate $57 billion in exports this year, and along with related industries, it provides 24 million jobs for Americans.
"Our affordable food supply means that Americans spend only about 10 percent of their disposable income on food, lower than almost any other country in the world. And as some of the best stewards of the land, farmers and ranchers provide food and habitat for 75 percent of our country's wildlife.
"We thank you for all you do every day, not just on Agriculture Day, but we appreciate this all through the year.
Dr. Penn, and Dr. Collins and I will now be happy to take the questions from the reporters."
MR. QUINN: Thank you, Madam Secretary. Our first question will come from Laurie Strove, Brownfield Network. Bob Hoff should be standing by. Laurie Struve, Brownfield Network, in Jefferson City, Missouri, go ahead please.
QUESTION: Thanks, Larry, and thank you, Madam Secretary.
I guess my question this morning would be on the farm bill sign-up, you say 60 percent have signed up. Are there any states in particular where sign-up is lagging behind and farmers seem to be dragging their feet?
SECRETARY VENEMAN: "Well, again, I don't know that it's a matter of farmers dragging their feet. We had initially a fairly slow response, in terms of people coming in. People didn't really start coming into the county offices until after the 1st of the year, and we hoped that would have happened a little bit more quickly.
"But I think that we are on track now. Sixty percent have signed up overall. As I said, we're expecting about 30 percent or slightly more to take the default option which is provided under the farm bill and that is maintain their current bases and yields. So we really only have about 10 percent.
"There are some counties that are overloaded. We're trying to redirect resources. Some of them may have to do some of the paperwork slightly after the deadline, but the deadline remains firm. I don't know that we can say that there are certain states. It's more a matter of very busy counties, and we're trying to address the needs those counties specifically."
MR. QUINN: Our next question will come from Bob Hoff of Northwest Ag Information Network, and he'll be followed by Sonja Hillgren.
Go ahead, Bob.
QUESTION: Good morning, Madam Secretary, and everyone.
I think you're aware that the concern last year, when wheat was released from the Emerson Reserve, the concern of the Pacific Northwest, particularly Washington State. And the people here are now wondering if we know what class or classes of wheat are involved in these current releases and when, if ever, that wheat would be replenished back into the trust or, as we sometimes hear rumors, that USDA intends to monetize that entire trust and put the money in the bank.
DR. PENN: "This is JB Penn. Let me try to respond to that.
"We have about 1.8 million tons in the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust at the moment. I can't give you the exact profile of that in terms of classes of wheat, but we will probably release, according to the proportions that we have in there. So we'll release most of the wheat based on the proportionate size that is in the trust.
"We are very much aware of the implications of releasing this on the markets for the particular classes of wheat. So we're going to be very careful that there is minimum disruption. But most of this wheat will be exported as wheat. There will be some portion that is sold so that rice can be purchased to meet the needs of the Iraqi people, but we haven't determined that proportion yet.
"I do see press reports about monetizing the reserve, and I don't know where those are coming from. There is no serious consideration being given to monetizing or holding cash, instead of commodity, in the reserve that I'm aware of at this time."
MR. QUINN: Thank you, Bob.
Our next question will be from Sonja Hillgren from Farm Journal, and she'll be followed by Bill Hord of the Omaha World Herald.
Sonja, go ahead, please.
QUESTION: Good morning. What are your plans and projections for providing food aid to Iraq? How long and when might Iraq emerge as a customer for U.S. wheat and rice?
SECRETARY VENEMAN: "Well, I think it's very, very difficult to speculate now on what any of the time frames will be. What we in the U.S. and this administration have attempted to do is work to have food in place and available for the people of Iraq once we can get the food aid into the country.
"Already, as I said in my remarks, the Iraqi people, about 60 percent are dependent on food from the Food for Oil Program. We want to have that program resume and continue under the authority of the U.N., and we would hope that that would happen.
"In addition, of course, we're making this wheat available under the Emerson Trust, and we are working with the World Food Program on additional supplies of food that would come in. There are also meals, the meals ready to eat. There are a number of those that are positioned to put into Iraq at the appropriate time.
"But at this point, any kind of timing is impossible to predict and would be pure speculation."
MR. QUINN: Our next question will come from Bill Hord of the Omaha World Herald, and he'll be followed by Ed Maixner.
Bill
Hord, go ahead, please.
QUESTION: Good morning.
It seems clear that as we try to protect against bioterrorism, that at
the farm and ranch level we're relying almost totally on the vigilance
of farmers and ranchers. You have suggestions for them.
Besides this press conference, what methods
are you using to try to get word to them on the things that they can do?
And is there more that we're doing besides asking them to be vigilant?
SECRETARY VENEMAN: "Well, we're working through every way we can to get information out to farmers and ranchers, and I appreciate your question, and I especially appreciate everybody who's joined us today because this is one important way that we can get information out.
"But we've been working through trade associations. I know that the Farm Bureau has put some very specific instructions to their members as a result of what we've done, and we really appreciate their help.
"We are working with the state Departments of Agriculture, extension, public service announcements. Obviously, our website is an area that people can look at for suggestions on what to do, but we're relying on virtually every avenue that we can to get the word out on what people can do.
"You know, a lot of--we went through a lot of this kind of discussion as we were dealing with the threat of foot and mouth disease, where we were warning farmers, particularly on large dairies, and feed lots, and other animal operations, to make sure that they restricted access. They knew who was coming onto farms.
"You know, we haven't had to worry about that before, but in today's environment, we need to think about who's coming on the farm, what are unusual activities? I know I had a number of farmers say that, `You know, if I see an unusual aircraft or something else I'm not expecting or vehicles, I'm looking at that carefully, I'm reporting it,' and that's the kind of thing on-farm that we need to do.
"The processing plants also are taking additional precautions. Many are putting cameras in their processing facilities, many are looking at their employees and doing security and background checks on them. All of these kinds of things that have not been done in the past now are a reality in the world in which we live post-September 11th."
MR. QUINN: The next question will be from Ed Maixner of Farm Progress Publications, and he'll be followed by Ron Hayes.
Ed, go ahead, please.
QUESTION: Hi, thanks. This is Ed Maixner. Thank you for the opportunity for a question. Two related questions on the wheat reserve, perhaps for Dr. Penn.
But what restraints, if any, will be applied to the volume that can be drawn from any one warehouse when this grain is sold here in these coming withdrawals?
And just related to that, what are the plans--I don't know if you spoke to that earlier--what are the plans for rebuilding the reserve? Is that going to be rebuilt in cash reserve or in actual grain in the future as it's rebuilt?
DR. PENN: "We do have a sales policy and a withdrawal policy, and I know that that has been subject to some controversy in previous withdrawals from the trust. But we are going to make all of that information available tomorrow so that the process is very transparent and everybody can see what the rules are for withdrawal in terms of classes of wheat and amounts from individual warehouses.
"The replenishment question keeps coming up, and after the 1996 farm bill, the legislation does not specify any particular requirements in terms of time to replenish the reserves. But we are drawing it down, and so at some point in the future, once we're past this situation, then we have to--we have to turn to that issue.
"As I said earlier, there is a lot of discussion around town, it seems, about holding cash in the reserve instead of holding commodities. But within the Council of Government, as far as I know, there is absolutely no discussion of that at this time."
MR. QUINN: Our next question will be from Ron Hayes, of Oklahoma Agrinet in Oklahoma City, followed by Joe Wary. Ron, go ahead, please.
QUESTION: Thank you, Larry, and good morning, Madam Secretary. I might say first of all thank you for your time that you spent with the Oklahoma Leadership Program yesterday. I got high reviews from those folks this morning when I visited with them.
My question is in regards to the disaster aid package that you're working on the regulations and rules on right now. Farm groups are very concerned about the potential of penalizing those who bought up on crop insurance.
Kind of a two-part question. First of all, does the law give you any wiggle room in regards to being able to keep from penalizing those who bought up on crop insurance? And, you know, secondly, are you going to be able then to write the regulations in that--in that manner?
SECRETARY VENEMAN: "Well, thank you for your question, and it's a very good one, and it--it just--it really illustrates how this disaster program is so difficult and why it's so difficult to implement. But we are getting through all of these kinds of questions.
"We're--we are looking at how we implement this program to minimize any such penalty as you're talking about. We want risk management programs to work, and we want farmers to be incentivized to buy them. And so we want to make sure that this program and our administration does not create a disincentive to purchasing crop insurance and utilizing those kinds of risk management tools.
"I might just reiterate also that, as I said in my Outlook speech, we are looking, as one of our initiatives this year, at the whole range of issues related to crop insurance. Where are the gaps in crop insurance? Clearly, we understand that there are not the kind of products available for livestock producers, for example, as there are for crops. But the crop side, we--we have about over 80 percent of our cropland now covered with crop insurance, which we think is very positive, and that crop insurance will pay out about $4.5 billion in benefits this year. So we think crop insurance is working, but there are areas where there are gaps, and it needs to be improved. And so part of our initiative is going to be looking at that.
"The other part of this initiative on risk management is to look at the integrity of the overall system and do we have the authority to regulate the--the process adequately. As you know, the largest crop insurance company in the country filed for Chapter 11 this year. We want to make sure that we understand from that experience what kinds of authorities we--if we do need additional authorities, we may need to oversee the crop insurance industry and make sure that we have the best crop--risk management tools possible."
MR. QUINN: Our next question comes from Joe Wary of Mid-America Ag Network in Kansas, and if we have time, we may go back to the top of the order for a second question. We'll watch the clock here.
Joe, go ahead with your question, please.
QUESTION: Okay. Thank you very much.
And, Madam Secretary, thank you for taking the time to visit with us. We really appreciate it very much.
The administration's tax cut announced earlier was good news for agriculture, but we now find out that it looks like the House Ag Committee will have to shave about $19.2 billion from ag spending over ten years. Of that, $5.7 billion will have to be shaved from any or all USDA programs within five years.
Does the administration see this as a viable tradeoff?
SECRETARY VENEMAN: "Well, as you know, these are issues that are being discussed within the Congress in terms of what's being talked about with reconciliation. It came out of the House Budget Committee. There is discussion about whether or not the--the various areas are going to be cut.
"I would remind you that the administration has submitted an '04 budget that would implement--continue to implement the farm bill as it was passed by the Congress and a budget that does not anticipate such reconciliation."
MR. QUINN: Madam Secretary, as we wind up here today, do you have any closing remarks on National Agriculture Day?
SECRETARY VENEMAN: "Well, I just want to say thank you to all of you who are out there today listening and joining us for this radio broadcast.
"It has given us the opportunity not only to say thank you to our farmers and ranchers and everybody involved in the food system for what they do every single day to feed people in this--not only in this country but all around the world.
"We all have to do everything that we can to educate people about how important the agriculture industry is in this country, because so many people don't recognize what our farmers and ranchers do every single day for people and allowing them to have the good, nutritious food that we have. So we first want to just say thank you.
"Also, I think it's important that we've had the opportunity today to reiterate the fact that we all have to be on guard, that we have to be vigilant, that we have to make sure that we're watching for everything that we possibly can. I have been asked, Are there specific threats against the food and agriculture industry that we know about? And I say, No, not specific threats. But who would have ever anticipated what happened on September 11th? And so we all have to be on guard. We have to be vigilant and do everything we can to make sure that we maintain the safest and best food supply anywhere in the world.
"So, again, thank you to all of our farmers and ranchers on this first day of spring and National Agriculture Day."
MR. QUINN: Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman, thank you very much.
This
is Larry Quinn, bidding you a good morning from Washington.
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