EMERSON: FARM BILL EXTENSION POSSIBLE

SIKESTON -- U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson told farmers attending the Rural Restoration Conference Monday that a year's extension of the 1990 Farm Bill is possible.

"We still have a budget battle," Missouri's 8th District congressman said by telephone from his office in Washington. "That could go on all year."

Emerson discussed the budget, Farm Bill and other issues during a noon luncheon of the agriculture conference being held at the Ramada Inn.

Some farmers have voiced opposition to any extension of the 1990 Farm Bill or reinstatement of the 1949 Agriculture Adjustment Act.

Current budget projections would make extension of the 1990 Farm Bill totally ineffective and the 1949 farm legislation grossly outdated, Charles Kruse of Dexter, president of the Missouri Farm Bureau, said during a recent meeting of the American Farm Bureau Federation.

"I can't see any extension of the 1949 legislation," said Emerson. "We could see a simple one-year extension of the 1990 Farm Bill."

Emerson was scheduled to appear at the conference, but because of the weather and his lung cancer treatment schedule he was unable to attend.

In his absence, Lloyd Smith, Emerson's chief of staff, attended the noon luncheon and established the telephone hookup

Emerson, during his telephone address, also voiced support of Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kansas, for president.

"I have known Dole 35 years," said Emerson, a Republican. "He's experienced in politics and he has the same Midwestern values we have. That's what we need in the White House."

The Rural Restoration Conference, sponsored by Adopt a Farm Family of America Inc., continued today with seminars of interest to farm families.

Bill Helming, president and owner of Helming Consulting Services Inc., will be keynote speaker during today's noon luncheon session. He will discuss current economic trends affecting agriculture and the nation's overall economy. He will also discuss his idea on a national consumption tax to replace the current federal income and Social Security taxes.

"The purpose of the farm conference is to provide farmers with marketing and spiritual help," said Peter C. Myers of Myers Land Management Co. and a sponsor of the conference.

Workshops provide marketing information, economic outlooks for agriculture and other planning for farmers, said Myers. Other seminars provide spiritual and Christian fellowship.

This marks the sixth year of the conference, said Myers, who is a former U.S. deputy secretary of agriculture and currently serves as president of Adopt A Farm Family of America, a Christian outreach program for farmers and ranchers.

The conference, which started in Memphis, Tenn., is the idea of Myers' wife, Mary Myers.

Bill Clinton, then governor of Arkansas, and Tim LaHaye, whose wife, Beverly, founded the Concerned Women For America group, were keynote speakers at the first conference.

"That was our biggest conference," said Mrs. Mary "We had more than 400 people in attendance."

More than 400 people were in attendance at the Paul and Susie Luchsinger gospel concert in Sikeston during the first day of the conference Sunday. About 100 were present for Monday's sessions.

The convention has attracted an average of about 200 people each year.

"This is the first year for the conference at Sikeston," said Peter Myers. "But we hope to make it an annual convention here."

The conference has been held at Decatur, Ill., the past three years. Following the initial conference at Memphis, the second one was held at Kansas City.