10/04/2000

Farmers/Landowners Voice Concerns at Farm and Forest Roundtable

CLANTON, Ala. —"If agriculture was an Audi or Mercedes plant, farmers would get the financial support they need from the federal government," exhorted Representative Thomas Jackson, at a Farm and Forest Roundtable held in Clanton.

Jackson, who is from Clarke County and is chairman of the House Agricultural Finance Committee, noted that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has hurt American farmers. NAFTA, he explained makes it more difficult for farmers to get parity for their crop. "We must get the message to Washington that we cannot continue to import food cheaper than we can produce it in the United States," he urged.

The Farm and Forest Roundtable in Clanton was the first of six statewide meetings to bring agriculture leaders in the state together with leaders of ag programs at Auburn University, Alabama A&M University and Tuskegee University. Information gathered at these meetings will be used to plan agricultural research and extension programs statewide.

Several growers in attendance noted that the recent establishment of a research and extension center at the Chilton Area Horticulture Research Station in Thorsby will be a valuable resource in fruit and vegetable production in the 12-county area around Chilton County.

Don Wamble, a marketing director for the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries and a former peanut producer, urged Auburn University officials present at the meeting to establish a marketing specialist at the new research and extension center in Thorsby.

"In many cases," he said, "especially with peaches, we can grow better fruit and vegetables and get these to eastern markets in better shape than produce grown in California, but we don't have the marketing expertise to do this. In some cases, individual growers in Alabama are competing with statewide cooperatives for marketing channels," he added.

Allen Cruise of Deatsville, one of about 80 farmers and ag leaders attending the Roundtable, noted that the Chilton area needs alternative crops to support peaches and create year-round marketing opportunities. "If things don't change," he said, "one day this country will wake up hungry."

Don East, a timber producer from Lineville, expressed concerns over proposed new EPA guidelines and about changes in estate tax laws. Alabama has more than 250,000 forest landowners, so these changes would economically affect about one in every four families in the state.

Auburn University officials, including Provost Bill Walker Alabama Cooperative Extension System Director Steve Jones and Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station Director Luther Waters, expressed university-wide support for agricultural programs.

Jones noted that the Extension System has lost 150 field agents since 1995. They hope to fill 40 of these vacant positions, with 28 of them in agriculture and natural resources. Jones noted that Extension is currently seeking legislative support to fund these vacant positions.

Waters noted that the Ag Experiment Station has suffered similar cutbacks in research faculty. He pointed out that agriculture is further plagued by transportation problems and limited facilities at the Port of Mobile, both of which have negative impacts on our ability to market crops and produce. He also said that opportunities to tap into the growing e-commerce business worldwide is limited in many rural areas of the state. Waters assured the audience that the Experiment Station considers these limitations in planning research programs that benefit the state's agricultural industry and urged state officials to strengthen the transportation and communication infrastructure to support agriculture.

Future Farm and Forest Roundtables will be held Oct. 5 in Greensboro, Oct. 10 in Ozark, Oct. 12 in Bay Minette, Oct. 24 in Oneonta and Oct. 26 in Decatur.

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News from:

Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
Contact Katie Jackson, 334-844-5886 or smithcl@auburn.edu
By Roy Roberson

10/04/00