1997 Commodity Classic Remarks Release No. 0067.97 Remarks of Secretary Dan Glickman 1997 Commodity Classic (Live via Satellite) from Washington, D.C. to Tampa, Fl February 28, 1997 INTRODUCTION Good morning, and thank you for the opportunity to speak to all of you. I'd like to say a special hello to your 2 presidents -- Wallie Hardie and David Erickson. They do a fine job fighting for America's corn and soybean producers. You know you open the papers these days, and all you read about is Dolly, the wonder sheep. I sort of resent all the attention she's getting. I figured out how to be in 2 places at once a long time ago, and I didn't even have to be genetically cloned ... Although this time of year, I'd prefer to have all 3 of my dimensions down there with you in Tampa. Since that's not possible, I'll keep it short today. The future looks very bullish for U.S. corn and soybeans -- as it does for agriculture in general. We're coming off a year of sky-high grain prices, and a record $60 billion in ag exports. We're looking at another strong year ahead. Grain prices have come back down to earth, so we're not likely to hit quite the high note we did last year. But this week, USDA adjusted its 1997 ag export estimates up $1 billion to $56.5 billion -- driven by larger than expected shipments of soybeans and cotton to China, the European Union and Mexico. Last year's record prices are likely to mean more corn and soybeans go in the ground this year. In fact, USDA's forecasting the largest corn and soybean plantings since the mid-'80s. Internationally, it's likely to be a crowded and competitive field, but that's because demand and prices are expected to remain strong. So there's a world of opportunity out there for us. THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE As we head into a new century, the fundamental question is: Are we ready for this new world? I think so. We have a new farm bill, and a new Conservation Reserve Program. Government's easing out of the markets, and letting farmers take the reins. As one Iowa corn farmer put it, this is farming like our grandparents knew we should.' And it frees USDA to govern as we should, by focusing more attention on the big-picture -- from world trade to risk management to sustainable agriculture. FSA REORGANIZATION All of this, of course, is taking place in the context of a balanced budget. President Clinton's put a credible plan on the table. It keeps this Administration's promise not to touch market transition payments. But it does ask USDA to do its part. The balanced budget plan projects that we'll continue downsizing our county field structure through 2002, until we're roughly half the size we were when we started our reorganization efforts. This will save taxpayers an estimated $8 billion. It also reflects the simple fact that farm programs have changed dramatically, and USDA's going to have to change, too. I know there are USDA folks out in the field who you're concerned about. I am, too. We're going to do our best to rely on attrition wherever we can. There are a lot of rumors, so I want you to hear from me that there is no master plan' that says which offices will close and which will stay open. Those decisions will only be made after we've consulted with state and local officials. I'm committed to an effective county field structure, and my bottom line will be preserving customer convenience ... your convenience. CRP: OUR FARM BILL FOR THE FUTURE There's also a lot of nail-biting going on about the new CRP. There's even speculation that we're going to put this off for a year. That's not even an option in my book. I spoke to our employees during their CRP training session. They are 100% convinced that they can do this, and they have experience working quickly and effectively. Just look at last year. Congress gave us a farm bill that was beyond late. Farmers needed to start Spring planting. What did we do? We enrolled 1.7 million producers in market transition payments in under 3 months. We can and will get the new CRP off to a strong start. This is our #1 priority as a department. The new CRP will be a true conservation program. We won't use it to manipulate supply and demand. We won't use it to take healthy land out of production. We will take only the most environmentally sensitive land -- land that gives us the maximum environmental dividends -- from preventing soil erosion, to protecting wildlife habitat, to improving air and water quality. Sign-up starts on Monday and lasts through March 28. We also have a continuous sign-up for high-priority practices -- filter strips, shelter belts, field windbreaks and riparian buffers. I'd like to commend the National Corn Growers for stepping forward and taking the lead in promoting field buffers as part of the CRP continuous sign-up. You're working closely with our NRCS folks on this, and I know Chief Johnson spoke to you yesterday. I can't stress enough just how important it is that farmers take advantage of this opportunity to protect water quality on their farms and in their communities. If you're thinking about leaving the CRP, I encourage you to keep some of your farm in buffer strips and grass waterways. I urge all farmers -- whether you're in the CRP or not -- to take advantage of this. AMBIENT AIR QUALITY I also want to mention EPA's ambient air quality rule which tightens the ozone and particulate matter standards. USDA scientists say that ambient ozone is even more damaging to crops, soil, plants and trees, than it is to humans or animals. If our ozone problems worsen, so will our crop yields and forests. So this is a food security issue. Agriculture needs to take it very seriously. I ask all of you to take a look at these rules. While you do, think about our future -- 20, 50, 100 years from now. I hope you'll conclude as I have that we need these new standards to ensure our future ability to feed people. There's also a silver lining for you. To meet the new standards, urban areas will have to rely on more ethanol. So it's a smart move for you in the short run, and all of us in the long haul. SAFETY NET We also have a new safety net in the works. As part of USDA's 1998 budget: We're proposing nationwide expansion of our revenue insurance pilot programs; We're getting rid of the one-strike-you're-out farm credit policy; And, we want to extend commodity loans and haying and grazing on conservation reserve land when markets get rough. TRADE We have another risk-management program -- an aggressive trade agenda. What better way to reduce the risks of the market than by expanding the size of the market? If China wants into the World Trade Organization, they're going to have to show some good faith on farm issues first. We're going to seek further reductions in farm trade barriers in the 1999 GATT negotiations. They're gearing up now, and agriculture will be at the table. And, we're pushing hard for expansion of NAFTA further south of the border. NAFTA's given us record farm exports to both Mexico and Canada. Latin America's ripe with the same potential. Many of our competitors already have trade agreements there. We need fast-track authority to stay competitive in these high-growth markets. Just this week, President Clinton asked me to go to Chile to help build stronger trade relations there. I plan on staying very active in all aspects of world trade. It's important that agriculture stays in the mix of these negotiations -- 1/4 of our corn crop is exported ... 1/3 of our soybeans. We also need to make sure the doors we've opened, stay open. That's why we're busy challenging phony science trade barriers. BIOTECH We need to better address international skepticism toward science. Earlier this week, I spoke at the same conference where Dolly made her public appearance. I've been upstaged before, but it's usually by President Clinton, not a sheep. My speech wasn't as groundbreaking. I stated the obvious: Biotechnology is revolutionizing agriculture. Products like Bt corn and round-up ready soybeans hold out our greatest hope for feeding a growing world from a fixed and fragile land base. Test after test has shown the products of biotechnology to be safe. We need to do more to educate people, to give them confidence in our science-based review process, and raise awareness of the promise of biotechnology to protect our environment and feed our people. CONCLUSION So for a government that's getting out of the day-to-day business of agriculture, I find myself very busy these days. I know you are, too. Ann Landers once said, opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them.' I don't know that we've had that problem in agriculture. It's always been hard work. But it's good to see it paying off. Thank you and best wishes for a successful conference and a strong year. # NOTE: USDA news releases and media advisories are available on the Internet. Access the USDA Home Page on the World Wide Web at http://www.usda.gov