TRADING PLACES: EMERSON SHIFTS TO NEW SUBCOMMITTEES

CAPE GIRARDEAU - U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson has changed some of his subcommittee assignments on the House Agriculture Committee for this session, to put himself in position to have a greater influence on legislation that will have an impact on Southeast Missouri.

Emerson is vacating his post as the ranking Republican member on the Nutrition Subcommittee he has held for the last eight years to become ranking Republican on the subcommittee for cotton and rice. He will continue to be a member of the nutrition subcommittee, however.

He will also give up his seat on the Wheat, Soybeans, and Feed Grains Subcommittee to take a seat on the Forestry, Family Farms, and Energy Subcommittee.

Emerson will remain as the ranking Republican member of the Select Committee on Hunger.

Emerson received the subcommittee assignments Feb. 8, when the Agriculture Committee organized for this session of Congress.

Changing subcommittees is not an uncommon practice for members of Congress who have achieved a certain level of seniority, Emerson explained, as a way of getting in position to deal with major legislation. "I see all these changes as gainers for me," remarked Emerson, who has been on the Agriculture Committee throughout his six terms in the House.

Emerson said he moved to the subcommittee on cotton and rice because those production of those crops are being increased in the Bootheel of the 8th district.

"Cotton, under the 1985 and 1990 Farm Law, has made a great resurgence," said Emerson. "The industry itself has rallied and taken promotion into its own hands ... it is a very, very important commodity in Southeast Missouri."

He noted that Mississippi County is an example of a county that has increased its cotton acreage due to flexibility in the new law.

Rice is also becoming an important Bootheel crop and many farmers are going from beans to rice. "The set-aside for rice is five percent, which is a very, very low set-aside; that tells you how well rice is doing."

Emerson expects rice to become much more prevalent in the Bootheel in future years and Butler and Stoddard Counties are major rice areas. Rice production in New Madrid County is increasing also.

One big reason why Bootheel farmers are turning to rice is because of the Dreyfus Rice Mill, located at the New Madrid Port Authority. Emerson points out that the facility "is the most modern rice mill in the world" and termed it "a real positive agriculture development for our area."

Before Dreyfus opened two years ago, rice farmers had to go to Stuttgart, Ark., but now they can go to the New Madrid facility. With one stop, they can have their crop milled and then shipped out.

Emerson stressed that he will keep a close watch on legislation from the Wheat, Soybeans, and Feed Grains Subcommittee that come to the full committee, but noted he feels those crops were adequately dealt with in the 1990 Farm Bill.

Emerson was instrumental in getting a marketing loan for soybeans last year, which should help promote overseas sales. A similar program was successful for cotton and rice.

The subcommittee on Forestry, Family Farms, and Energy will deal with a lot of major issues during the next two years, he noted.

About 80 percent of the more than one million acres of the Mark Twain Forest is in the 8th district. Issues related to forest management will likely be coming up as well as environmental ones.

The problems in the gulf have led to increased interest about alternate sources of energy such as the use of ethanol. "We will look at alternatives to oil as a fuel, that may eventually be produced by agriculture," Emerson said.

With the 1990 Farm Bill written and regulations ready to be implemented, the Agriculture Committee will be holding oversite hearings on the law this spring to make sure it is working the way it was intended to work, Emerson said.

The issue of agriculture trade law will also be addressed the spring after negotiators failed to reach an agreement late last year in Geneva on a new agreement.

Emerson pointed out that the Agriculture Committee will focus heavily on negotiations with European countries and trade partners in hopes of achieving a level playing field for international trade.

The most desirable goal, explained Emerson, is if all countries of the world did not subsidize at a level greater than the others, because "then the market forces could take over."

Because of American agriculture's ability to produce crops efficiently, Emerson said it is in the best interests of Europeans to buy American products.

The level of subsidies provided by the government to agriculture is always a source of discussion, but Emerson said it is a global issue, rather than a national issue. Subsidies are necessary to bring stability to the market.

"Government involvement in American agriculture policy has always been well intended," observed Emerson. "It may not have always done what was intended, but what it has done is to ensure at an affordable cost and adequate supply of food and fiber for the American consumer."