FARMERS VOICE CONCERNS

PERRYVILLE -- The corn stands tall on the Oliver Bachmann farm south of Perryville. But Bachmann and his fellow farmers are worried: Low prices for their crops and livestock are making it tough to make a living.

Bachmann and about 20 other Perry County farmers discussed their concerns Monday in a meeting with U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson. The Cape Girardeau Republican kicked off her four-day farm tour with an 8:30 a.m. stop at the Bachmann farm along Highway 61.

Seated in lawn chairs and at a picnic table in the front yard of the Bachmann house, Emerson and the farmers discussed the problems of agriculture.

Sonny Romann, a grain farmer in eastern Perry County, told Emerson that many of the nation's farmers need federal aid to get through the hard times.

"We're probably too late for a lot of people," he said. "We probably need to get the appropriations going as soon as possible."

Romann, who grows corn, wheat and soybeans on his family farm near McBride, said government set-aside programs don't work. "Farmers take the worst piece of ground to set aside," he said.

Livestock and crop prices are down partly because of overproduction, he said, and poor export sales have hurt.

A farmer makes less than 2 cents on a microwave bag of popcorn, Romann said.

Family farmers can't survive in this economic climate, Romann said. "Prices are terrible."

The 400-acre Bachmann farm includes about 150 acres of corn. The family also grows soybeans and raises cattle and hogs.

The Bachmanns raise about 1,200 hogs a year, and hog prices are at rock-bottom lows. With packers paying 37 cents a pound, the Bachmanns are losing money. Bachmann estimated the price they can get for their hogs is about 10 cents a pound below the cost of production. Bachmann said they are losing $25 on every 250-pound hog they sell.

Farmers said increased exports and new domestic markets are crucial to their long-term survival.

Perryville area farmer Steve Huber, who raises livestock and grows corn, soybeans and alfalfa, suggested the federal government needs to promote the production of ethanol as an alternative fuel for vehicles.

Ethanol is made from corn. It burns cleaner than regular gasoline.

Huber said production of ethanol would provide farmers with another market for their corn.

American farmers produce far more corn than is needed for domestic consumption. "We only use about half of what we produce," said Huber. As a result, farmers must export their corn or find other uses for it, he said.

Huber said the Asian financial crisis has hurt agricultural exports.

"Some of us right now are borrowing on equity just to survive," he said.

Huber said he doesn't know if emergency farm aid will really help in the long run or only delay the end for some family farms.

The U.S. Senate has approved $7.5 billion for emergency assistance to farmers. On the House side, Emerson has proposed a relief package totaling nearly $8 billion.

Huber said he and other area farmers don't want government production controls, but they don't have all the answers.

They complained that the Clinton administration has done too little to promote agricultural exports. They also said federal environmental regulations have added to the cost of farming and made it harder for farmers to make ends meet.

Emerson said emergency payments would only be a stop-gap measure to keep farmers in business. She said the Clinton administration has done too little to promote agricultural exports while at the same time has embraced environmental regulations that hurt farmers.

She has little confidence in the administration of the United States Department of Agriculture. "I don't believe the USDA is engaged in helping farmers," she said. She said the agency is more interested in helping the Environmental Protection Agency regulate farming.

Emerson said Congress needs to get the EPA out of running farming. "It costs you guys too much to produce because of environmental regulations," she said.

Emerson said Republicans have a slim majority in the House, and environmental groups have a powerful lobby on Capitol Hill.

Environmental groups have expressed concern about genetically engineered crops designed to withstand disease, while at the same time they have decried the use of pesticides, the farmers said.

Farmers said environmental groups should support genetically engineered crops as a way to reduce the use of chemicals.