SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. A18

LENGTH: 303 words

HEADLINE: The 2002 Farm Bill

BODY:


George Will dubbed the farm bill an "assault on fiscal integrity" and criticized Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle for his efforts to address the five-year recession in rural America [op-ed, Jan. 13].

But Mr. Will incorrectly stated that farm incomes are expected to hit record levels this year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently projected net farm income to decline by 20 percent in 2002 (about $ 9 billion) on top of the 25 percent income drop that has occurred since 1996. Another report by the U.S. Department of Labor projects farming and ranching to lose more jobs than any other economic sector in America during the next 10 years (328,000).

Our rural communities are experiencing deterioration of infrastructure, increased bankruptcies and declining populations. Beyond that, we are seeing losses of rural businesses, rural school consolidations and a decline in health care and transportation services. Sen. Daschle has been a champion of family farmers and ranchers throughout his career. His efforts in the Senate to pass a farm bill before the holiday recess last fall should be commended, not condemned.

Mr. Will took a cheap shot at the title of the new farm bill, suggesting that the name changed after Sept. 11. This is another incorrect assumption by Mr. Will. Farm security means food security for our citizens and reflects the need to maintain the long-term ability of the United States to produce the safest, most abundant food and fiber of any nation in the world.

Mr. Will should listen to the advice of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who said almost 50 years ago: "Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you're a thousand miles from the cornfield."

LELAND SWENSON

President

National Farmers Union

Aurora, Colo.



LOAD-DATE: January 29, 2002