Depressed farm prices are here again, said Pardonnet, who has been farming since the age of 17. But in today's global economy, programs that force farmers to alter their domestic production just don't cut it, said the Shiawassee County Farm Bureau member and cash crop and beef producer.

"There was a time when we could influence prices by reducing our production or by bargaining, but that time has passed." Pardonnet said. "It's very sad, but it now seems we have to depend on the government. For one, our exchange rate is so high, and if we reduce our production, some other country like South America just increases theirs."

U.S. acreage set-asides currently are not part of drafted legislation for a new farm bill. But farm economists and commodity representatives agree that production by foreign competitors is just one of many factors that must be considered as Congress works to piece together the complex but crucial legislation.

Throughout the week, agricultural policy experts and industry spokesmen participating in Michigan Farm Bureau's (MFB) Farm Bill Forums have considered how the global marketplace affects U.S. farm policy and attempted to sort out what's ineffective in the existing farm bill and what must be addressed in a new one.

MFB kicked off the series of eight statewide Farm Bill Forums on Monday. The free forums continue next week with an Aug. 9 stop in Ravenna and an Aug. 10 stop in Cadillac.

Each forum features perspectives from agricultural policy experts, Dave Schweikhardt of Michigan State University and Daryll Ray of the University of Tennessee, testimony from invited commodity organizations, and the chance for attendees to discuss the issue in small groups and make recommendations that will be forwarded to lawmakers and used as part of the Farm Bureau policy development process.

The forums come following the U.S. House Agriculture Committee's approval last Friday of a proposed $73.5 billion farm bill. The measure will move to the House floor for action in September.

The House proposal has some of the provisions MFB laid out as its top farm bill priorities during the Farm Bill Forums, including continuation of production flexibility contracts, extension of the dairy price support program and assistance for sugar producers.

MFB's other top farm bill priorities are:

• A rebalancing of loan rates to be in historical alignment with the current $5.26 soybean loan rate.
• Changes to the Loan Deficiency Program (LDP) that will allow ALL producers of program crops to be eligible and to lock in a LDP any time after the crop is planted.
• A conservation stewardship payment for fruit and vegetable producers.
• Increased funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and reform guidelines to assist livestock and crop producers in meeting current and emerging regulatory requirements.
• A voluntary environmental incentive payment program for farmers who adopt and continue conservation practices to address air and water quality, soil erosion and wildlife habitat.
• Increased funding for and utilization of export enhancement programs.
• Expansion of risk management provisions.
• Funding for Johne's livestock disease testing and indemnification.
• A non-recourse loan program for wool and mohair.
• Funding for an agricultural marketing equity capital fund for value-added enterprises.

"Farmers must be given the opportunity to regain their footing and must be provided with a reliable safety net," he said. "Michigan Farm Bureau believes the next farm bill must improve net farm income by enhancing the economic opportunities for our producers ... Farmers said they would accept major reforms in farm policy in 1996 in exchange for tax reform, regulatory reform and improved opportunities for trade. But needed reforms in those areas - considered key to the success of the program - simply have not occurred."

According to Ray, 1999 government payments as a percent of net farm income totaled 59 percent in Michigan, and totaled 100 percent or more in some states.

Ray partly attributes the reliance on federal aid to agriculture's uniqueness as an industry.

"Since food and feed are biological requirements, demand varies little with price. Consumers respond quickly and powerfully to low prices in other sectors. But with agriculture, we're not talking about bolts and cars and TV sets," he said.

"Other industries can, and often do, adjust production weekly or daily" based on demand, Ray added. But "farmers do not make a production decision - they make a planting decision once a year ... and they have every incentive to produce at full capacity."

Chris Demerly, a 26-year-old Owosso cash crop farmer, accompanied Pardonnet to the Ithaca Farm Bill Forum. Demerly said the makeup of the next farm bill is especially crucial for young farmers like himself.

"We're at a point in time where we're losing production, we're losing money to foreign competitors," he said. "We need a farm bill to give us a foundation so we can plan for the future, especially for a young farmer trying to determine where his focus should be. Is it towards the livestock industry or cash crops?"

Demerly doubts he would be able to farm without a sound farm bill in place.

"The way things are today, you have to have some kind of support," he said. "Even if you do everything right, you're going to be negatively affected if there's no price. You have to have some kind of floor in that you know you're going to make at least some kind of money."

That's when the Michigan Farmland and Community Alliance (MFCA) and the Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB) will recognize a Lapeer County Farm Bureau member for banning together a small group of landowners to protect a whopping 1,463 acres of farmland in one of Michigan's fastest growing counties.

Burnside Township dairy producer Louis Martus will commit to permanently protect seven parcels through the state Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) program during a 1 p.m. press conference Aug. 8 at his farmstead.

The acreage is located in Burnside and North Branch townships and is made up of 526 acres owned by Martus and 937 acres owned by his neighboring farmers and relatives.

The state PDR program compensates landowners who voluntarily agree to give up their rights to sell their land for development. Under the program, the state buys the development rights to the land, and an agricultural easement is placed on the property restricting any future non-agriculture development.

Martus recalled starting to feel development pressure back in 1998. He wasn't sure how to deal with it until he heard about the PDR program while serving on the MFB Policy Development Committee.

"The southern part of the county had houses popping up everywhere, but with our land up for the PDR program, the developers just skipped right over Burnside Township," Martus said.

Having such a large mass of farmland protected in a developing suburb of metropolitan Detroit is unique and a testament to the efforts of local land use leaders like Martus, said MFCA Executive Director Jim Fuerstenau.

"To protect this much land in a rural, agriculture-rich area like Lapeer is phenomenal," Fuerstenau said. "Louis Martus is a perfect example of how local leadership can lead the charge to preserve farmland and open space."

According to the farmland preservation unit of the Michigan Department of Agriculture, Lapeer County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state, experiencing an 11 percent to 20 percent population gain in 2000. That compares to Livingston County, which grew the fastest in 2000 with a 35.7 percent population gain.

Local efforts to preserve farmland haven't stopped at the 1,463 acres. More than 30 producers in Lapeer County have filed applications in hopes of being selected for the next round of PDR contracts.

And Lapeer County will be the site of MFCA and MFB's statewide Land Use Committee Rally, Aug. 7-8. The first-ever event will give county Farm Bureau Land Use Committees a chance to network and share ideas as well as learn new land use tools that can be used at local levels. A Lapeer County farmland tour is planned as part of the Aug. 8 rally.

Additional Aug. 8 Press Conference Details

Speaking will be:

• Wayne Wood, Michigan Farm Bureau and Michigan Farmland and Community Alliance President
• Jim Fuerstenau, Michigan Farmland and Community Alliance Executive Director
• Louis Martus, Martus Dairy Farm owner and Lapeer County Farm Bureau member
• Richard Harlow, Michigan Department of Agriculture Farmland and Open Space Program Manager

Media needing more information about the press conference or wanting to attend any of the Aug. 7-8 Land Use Committee Rally events should contact Darron Birchmeier, Michigan Farm Bureau County Information Specialist, at (800) 292-2680, ext. 6584.

The trip is scheduled from Sept. 6-10 and is open to farmers, government officials, planners and anyone else interested in learning about ways to protect local farmland while managing community growth responsibly.

"Visiting these eastern states is extremely beneficial when it comes to finding solutions for Michigan's land use challenges because these states are leaders in the amount of farmland preserved and they've had protection tools in place for over a decade," said Jim Fuerstenau, executive director of the Michigan Farmland and Community Alliance.

The Michigan Farmland and Community Alliance is an affiliate of the Michigan Farm Bureau. Both groups are among the more than 20 organizations co-sponsoring the tour.

Tools tour-goers will see "in action" include agricultural security areas, smart growth strategies, purchase of development rights and transfer of development rights.

"This is an excellent opportunity for people to learn what can be done to address our land use challenges," Fuerstenau said. "Unless we act in partnership to find incentive-based solutions, we'll see more farmland sold for other uses and fragmented, ultimately resulting in a less competitive agriculture industry and unidentifiable communities."

The Ultimate Farmland Preservation Tour costs $600 per person for reservations made before Aug. 24, and $630 for reservations made after that date. The fee includes all meals, lodging, transportation, educational materials, T-shirts, hats and entertainment.

To reserve a seat, call Dawn Cherry with the American Farmland Trust, another tour co-sponsor, at (517) 324-9276. For an electronic registration form, e-mail Cherry at dcherry@farmland.org.

June's production puts the ethanol industry on target to produce approximately 1.8 billion gallons of ethanol in 2001. Even after record expansion of production capacity in 2000, the ethanol industry will easily set a new capacity expansion record this year. Twelve new ethanol plants are under construction and 34 current ethanol production facilities are being expanded.

"With the debate over a national energy policy heating up, the ethanol industry is proving it has earned a prominent role," said Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen. "Ethanol should be the octane and oxygen additive of choice as policymakers and refiners plan for the next decade."

Contact: Bob Boehm, (800) 292-2680, ext. 2023

The third in a series of reports on Farm Computer Usage and Ownership, the report was previously issued in 1997 and 1999.

A total of 43 percent of U.S. farms now have Internet access, compared to 29 percent with Internet access in 1999. Other data from the report found that nearly 55 percent of farms have access to a computer in 2001, compared to the 1999 level of 47 percent. Fifty percent of all U.S. farms own or lease a computer, up from 40 percent in 1999. Farms using computers for their farm business increased from 24 percent in 1999 to 29 percent in 2001.

In comparison to an American Farm Bureau Federation survey conducted in February of 295 young farmers and ranchers from 41 states, ages 18-35, Internet access among young farmers rose slightly to 79.7 percent compared to 77.1 percent in 2000. The numbers, however, were up sharply from the survey results of five years ago, when only 10.5 percent reported having Internet access.

Contact: Jill Haake, (800) 292-2680, ext. 6585

Meant to help reduce drug trafficking, ATPA provides the four Andean countries of Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador and Peru with duty-free and reduced-duty access to U.S. markets. Farm Bureau contends the act has done little to help reduce drug trafficking. The act instead has given farmers in Peru more incentive to increase asparagus production, and consequently compete unfairly against U.S. growers. U.S. asparagus production is centered in California, Washington, and Michigan.

MFB wrote in its testimony that "Peruvian imports are displacing U.S. asparagus production at an alarming rate. As evidence, prices received by Michigan growers for processed asparagus declined from 62 cents per pound in 2000 to 42 cents per pound in 2001 - a price reduction of over a third in just one year.

"Michigan Farm Bureau requests that significant modifications be made to the ATPA, should it be renewed at all. First, we request that duty-free treatment not be accorded for specific commodities wherein a country is deemed economically competitive ... Second, a safeguard mechanism should be instituted to address import surges of perishable agricultural commodities."

ATPA is scheduled to expire on Dec. 4, 2001.

Contact: Sarah Black, (800) 292-2680, ext. 2025

No matter how you scoop it, ice cream is a popular treat. Ice cream and related frozen desserts were consumed by nearly 91 percent of U.S. households in 1999, according to ACNielsen Homescan Panel data. Carmel/vanilla Dulce de Leche and any type of coffee or cappuccino are hot selling flavors.

It's no cheesy matter. Sales of imported gourmet cheeses reached new heights in 2000, and analysts are predicting retail sales in this category will reach $2.9 billion by 2002 - a stunning 36 percent increase over 1997 sales. Experts attribute the increase to more consumers looking for variety and testing the world's cheeses as they travel abroad. Consumer demand pushed processed cheese production in the early 1990s to exceed 2 billion pounds a year, according to the American Dairy Association.

Milk for the Internet generation has arrived. Food science researchers at Cornell University have developed a milk-based beverage called e-Moo. The drink contains all the nutrition of non-fat milk with added calcium and only half the sodium found in other flavored milks. The e-Moo drink is sweetened with fructose instead of refined sugar and will debut in three flavors: orange cremecicle, cookies and cream, and fudge brownie.