The Grand Island Independent - The 2012 Farm Bill was the focus of attention Tuesday in Cheyenne, Wyo., as members of the House Agriculture Committee, including U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., heard from farmers and ranchers on a variety of issues.

Smith, who represents Nebraska's 3rd Congressional District, said energy is an important component of the new Farm Bill, and the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico shouldn't scare the United States away from continuing to look at all resources in achieving energy independence.

In a recent New York Times column, Thomas Friedman said America now imports about 11 million barrels of oil a day -- about 57 percent of its total needs -- mostly from Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. Quoting T. Boone Pickens, Friedman said the U.S. trade deficit for January 2010 was $37.3 billion -- and $27.5 billion of that went to import oil.

The Farm Bill hearing was the fourth in a series being held throughout the country. Upcoming hearings will be held in Morrow, Ga.; Troy, Ala.; Lubbock, Texas; and Sioux Falls, S.D.

In framing the importance of the Farm Bill hearings, Smith said the U.S. faces "unprecedented' economic challenges. But he believes "rural communities across the country offer innovative solutions."

"We should be working to create policies which will strengthen American agriculture and provide long-term stability for our nation's producers and to promote economic policies which will foster sustained growth in rural communities," Smith said.

The hearings are allowing Smith and other ag committee members to review U.S. agriculture policy prior to writing the 2012 Farm Bill.

Issues raised at the hearing in Cheyenne included resource devastation of the western pine beetle, cattle, sheep, wheat, sugar beets, trade and farm payments.

"There was a pretty good broad perspective," Smith said about the testimony heard at Tuesday's hearing.

By starting the hearings early, Smith said, the committee hopes to get "ahead of the curve" when it comes to getting a Farm Bill completed on time.

With the U.S. deficit at more than $12 trillion, spending limitations are going to be a hot Farm Bill topic.

Because of good commodity prices during the term of the 2005 Farm Bill, not a lot of government money was needed for crop support. Smith said that could "affect numbers into the future."

"That is something we need to keep it in mind," Smith said. "We heard from a wheat grower about the stability of direct payments, for example."

Direct payments are fixed, regardless of year-to-year variations in acres, yields and prices, while counter-cyclical payments depend on the national season average price for each crop.

Making those necessary cuts to the Farm Bill because of the government's deteriorating financial problems will be difficult, Smith said.

Production agriculture is just a small portion of the Farm Bill. Nutrition programs make up more than 70 percent of Farm Bill spending.

"The issues of spending are pretty broad, and those folks who think we can gather up all this money out of the Farm Bill have to keep it in perspective that there are a lot of other things that need to be looked at," Smith said.

With agriculture a key component of the nation's economic vitality and national security, an inadequately funded Farm Bill could put America's agricultural industry in jeopardy.

Smith said there's no talk amongst committee members about extending the current Farm Bill instead of writing a new piece of legislation.

The current Farm Bill will expire in September 2012.

"That's why we are starting early to get a new bill passed in time rather than delaying it or extending it," Smith said. "That's what we are trying to prevent, but we will see how it goes."

Smith said one of his main priorities with a new Farm Bill will be the energy component.

Smith represents the nation's leading ethanol-producing congressional district. Nebraska is the nation's second-leading ethanol producer and the fourth-leading state in wind energy potential.

"Agriculture plays an important part of our nation's energy mixture," he said. "Whether it's renewable fuels and leading this country to energy independence, it's going take a lot of different types of fuels, and agriculture plays a role not only in the production of energy but in terms of consumption."

Extreme volatility in energy like the nation saw in 2008, when oil prices hit nearly $150 per barrel, can play havoc on the highly energy-dependent agricultural industry, not only from fuel but from the fertilizer and chemicals that are derived from fossil fuels.

Smith advocates an "all-of-the-above" approach to energy production that calls for a mixture of energy sources, whether it be fossil fuels or nuclear energy or renewable fuels. He is also involved in new energy research, such as biofuel production from algae.

In light of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that threatens the U.S. Gulf Coast, Smith said there should be additional emphasis on renewable fuels.

"We don't want to be so dependent on one source of energy, and this is a good reason," Smith said. "I'm not saying we should shut off off-shore drilling because I think this is an isolated situation, but it does point to the fact that we need other options. Biofuels and other alternative energy, such as wind, hydro and solar, are all important as well."

http://www.theindependent.com/articles/2010/05/04/news/local/11781558.txt