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The future of the sugar industry, both locally and
nationwide, was the subject of a meeting between U.S. Sen. Tom Osborne and
area businessmen Saturday afternoon.
Osborne met with Kent Wimmer of Western Sugar, Chuck
Hibberd of the UN Panhandle Research and Extension Center, Hod Kosman of
Platte Valley Companies and Rocky Mountain Sugar Growers Cooperative board
members Robert Busch and Kevin Hall.
The group explained the current status of the grower
co-op, which last week announced its success in subscribing enough acres
to proceed with the purchase of Western Sugar Company. The cooperative
secured the 150,000 acres to make the purchase viable, but is still
seeking to reach 170,000 acres throughout the four-state cooperative
region Colorado, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming. Interested growers
have until Feb. 20 to submit their subscriptions.
Robert Busch, who is also president of the Nebraska
Sugarbeet Growers Association, said the sugar industry, both beet and cane
segments, are working together on a road map for the future of the
industry.
"The industry has to agree on a plan and be a unified
group before we can go to Congress and the Ag Committee," Busch said.
"We made preliminary plans at the national (American Sugarbeet
Growers Association) meeting last week, and will begin negotiations soon
with the cane growers. This is all preliminary, but I feel very good about
it."
The group also discussed a possible Sugar Payment-In-Kind
(PIK) program for 2001.
Busch said the topic was discussed at length at the
national meeting.
"The industry is looking at something besides PIK,
although the 2000 program worked well," he said.
Wimmer, director of agriculture at Western Sugar, said he
believes a set-aside program of some sort makes more sense than putting
all the farmers resources into a crop and then tearing it up.
"The industry needs self-discipline," he said.
Wimmer and others in the group said legislation needs to
be tightened up on the national level, to control and prevent such issues
as the stuffed molasses coming in from Canada, and the NAFTA agreement
that allows Mexico to ship its excess sugar to the U.S.
"I think the imports from Mexico should be a residual
supply that comes in only when our markets need more sugar," Wimmer
said.
Osborne said a lot of problems exist with the World Treaty
Organization (WTO) and NAFTA agreements.
"In theory they ought to work, but in practice there
are a lot of loopholes. A lot of the European nations just thumb their
noses at the those rules."
According to Osborne, who is on the Senate Ag Committee,
it is too early to tell what direction the new farm bill will take.
However, he has some ideas he would like to see included.
"We need to enhance foreign trade, and make sure
there is an adequate safety net for farmers," he said. "A lot of
people are also worried about the consolidation and mergers going on that
are eliminating markets. We need to come up with some alternative
marketing methods, too."
Osborne stopped in Scottsbluff on a day-long tour of the
Panhandle, including Sidney, Scottsbluff and Kimball. |