THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
STATE
》 AGRICULTURE
5A
Bill may hurt, help farmers
SAM HANANEL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Larry W. Smith/Associated Press
Joe Keij looks over his John Deere 4720 sprayer, used to apply fertilizer as a top dressing, on his farm near Brookville, Kan., Monday. Lawmakers and farm groups have questions about President Bush's plan to reduce agriculture spending overall, cut subsidies to producers earning more than $200,000 in adjusted gross income and make it more expensive to buy crop insurance.
WASHINGTON — When Congress passed the last farm bill five years ago, Sen. Pat Roberts was firmly in the "no" column.
The latest version of farm legislation offered by the Bush administration last month hasn't put to rest Roberts' concerns, or those of other Kansas officials worried about its impact on the state's farmers and ranchers.
"We want to do a lot more homework and run the numbers to determine what we really think the practical effect will be and then we'll go from there," said Roberts, a Republican.
Lawmakers and farm groups have questions about Bush's plan to reduce agriculture spending overall, cut subsidies for producers earning more than $200,000 in adjusted gross income and make it more expensive for farmers to buy crop insurance.
Yet the state also stands to benefit from other aspects of the proposal.
The White House's blueprint would boost conservation funding, promote renewable fuels and provide money to upgrade the quality of rural hospitals - all key for Kansas farmers.
"There are some things that make a lot of sense to me and some things that are detrimental to the agricultural economy in Kansas," said Republican Rep. Jeremy Moran, who represents all of western Kansas.
Congress
"There are some things that make a lot of sense to me and some things that are detrimental to the agricultural economy in Kansas."
enacts new farm legislation about every five years in response to changes in the agriculture industry. With the current farm bill expiring in September, Bush's plan is viewed as a starting point for discussion.
Kansas farmers received over 59 billion in subsidies from 1995-2005 ranking the state 6th in the nation according to a database compiled by the Environmental Working Group, a public interest group that tracks payments. Texas ranked first in subsidy payments, with farmers there pulling in $14.8 billion over the same time.
Many wheat farmers, whose crop production suffered because of
drought, believe they were treated unfairly under the 2002 farm bill because they could not qualify for certain subsidy programs that are based on yield.
REP. JERRY MORAN
R — Kansas
"We were in a situation where the cost of production went up and we just left that money on the table," said Joe Keir, a Brookville farmer and president of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers. "We're trying to
get those inequities fixed in the farm bill."
fuel and fertilizer prices.
Kansas Farm Bureau President Steve Baccus says he wants federal lawmakers to "change the way they think about federal farm programs" and preserve an economic safety net for producers through smart policies, not just "a government check."
Washington next month to lobby lawmakers and administration officials on the farm bill.
Representatives of 21 Kansas farm organizations will travel to
One of Roberts' biggest concerns is that the plan would raise premiums for crop insurance, increasing costs for a large number of Kansas producers. At the same time, the Bush administration has consistently opposed separate disaster assistance legislation because crop insurance is available.
"How does taking additional money out of this risk management program help producers?" Roberts said. "I don't understand that."
On the positive side, the administration proposes to boost conservation spending by about $780 million a year. Part of that money would help cattle producers and livestock feeders comply with environmental standards for runoff, water pollution and air quality.
That will make a difference for the state's $5 billion a year beef industry and be felt in Moran's western Kansas district, which has more cattle than any other in the nation.
Moran also is excited about the plan to make $1.6 billion in low interest loans available for small, critical care hospitals to buy new equipment and upgrade aging facilities.
Local residents resist proposed $13 M highway interchange
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TONGANOXIE — Plans for a proposed $13 million highway interchange at the intersection of Leavenworth County Road 1 and the Kansas Turnpike are facing strong opposition from residents living near the area.
》 DEVELOPMENT
About 80 people turned out Sunday to protest plans for the
But opponents said the inter change would cost too much and affect their rural lifestyle.
project, which aims to improve County Road 1 from U.S. Highway 24 to Kansas Highway 32 to support increases in traffic. Leavenworth County officials argue that the proposal has been in the works since the 1990s and will provide better access to the county, which will allow for growth and development.
"It's like the difference between living on Walden Pond and living near a strip mall," said resident Marym Hiersted, whose land has several acres of forests and native prairie grasses that she doesn't want to see spoiled by the interchange. "Development impacts not
"It's like the difference between living on Walden Pond and living near a strip mall."
MARYAM HJERSTED Leavenworth Resident
only the environment, but the community as well."
The opposition meeting at the county fairground came three days after the Leavenworth County Commission
approved a resolution reaffirming its support for the project, at an expense of about $8 million.
Tonganoxie is expected to provide $1 million, and the Kansas
Turnpike Authority has promised $2 million. The source of the remaining $1.96 million has not yet been identified, but Leavenworth County Commissioners hope to secure federal money for the project.
Residents at the Sunday meeting also said the project could end up costing more than the projected $12.96 million. They said the county would have to pay for overruns, plus whatever is not provided by the federal government. The money from the county and Tonganoxie would come from a voter-approved 1 cent sales tax that runs through 2016.
Jan Bernhardt stands to lose a portion of her 320 acres to the project.
"My concern is the access road to the toll booth will go right by my house," Bevnhardt said. "Even beyond that, all the development that will follow this interchange is scary. We have a right to have a voice in this process, and we haven't had a voice."
CRIME
Ex-Westar chief finishes prison time
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LEAVENWORTH — David Wittig, the former top executive of Westar Energy Inc., was released from prison Monday after serving nearly 13 months in prison.
Wittig was released from the federal detention center in Leavenworth about 2 p.m. and was greeted by his wife, Beth, and Jeff Morris, one of his attorneys.
Wittig, the former chairman,
president and chief executive of
Westar, was convicted in July 2003
of engaging in a loan transaction
with a Topeka banker and helping
to conceal the loan from banking regulators.
Wittig had been incarcerated in a minimum security prison in Sandstone, Minn., until last month, when he was transported to Topeka for his third sentencing in the bank fraud case. U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson sentenced him to two years.
On Thursday, Robinson granted Wittig's request to be released on bond pending his appeal of that sentence.
Although Robinson granted Wittig bond last week, he could not be released until the 10th
U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled on his request for bond in another case, in which Wittig was convicted in September 2005 of looting Westar. Robinson sentenced him to 18 years in prison in that case.
On Friday, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver granted that motion.
Wittig's release may be only temporary if the appeals court affirms the two-year sentence in the bank case, or prosecutors decide to put Wittig on trial again for some of the crimes in the Westar case.
[Engineering & Computer Science] Career Fair
So easy a canine can do it.
12:30-5:00 p.m. Kansas Union Ballroom www.ecc.ku.edu