| TWIN FALLS -- The situation for area sugar beet producers
just might be looking better for the coming season.
Acres in the Twin Falls district moved around
significantly, with most of Bell Rapids growers taking
advantage of the Idaho Power buyout and moving to areas within
the district where water comes more cheaply.
Leonard Kerbs , Twin Falls ag manager for Amalgamated Sugar
Co., said about 400 acres were planted during the third week
of March in the Twin Falls District. "That's on the early
side," he said.
In the many areas with extra dry soil, farmers are waiting
until water is available before they plant. On the economic
side of the industry, no ruling on the stuffed molasses issue
has come down. But Senator Larry Craig, R-ID, isn't waiting
around to see if the decision favors U.S. growers. Along with
Senator John Breaux, D-LA, he is sponsoring a bill to close
the loophole that has plagued producers since 1995. Last year
174,000 metric tons of sugar came through Canadian channels
into the United States under suspicious circumstances.
Called "stuffed molasses," product that has
molasses added to crystallized sugar right before entering the
country is shipped into the United States; then the molasses
is spun out of the sugar in a Michigan plant with the sugar
sold mostly as cereal sweetener. The U.S. industry claims the
strategy circumvents customs guidelines for importing sugar
into the country.
Over the past three years U.S. producers have fought the
company who makes stuffed molasses and are now at a court of
last resort in Washington D.C. awaiting a ruling on an appeal.
"Our concern is that even if customs court rules in
our favor, there's a possibility other companies could come in
and do the same thing all over again," said Mark Duffin,
Idaho Sugarbeet Growers Association executive director.
"This bill would stop it from ever happening again."
The bill was introduced in September 2000, but there was
not enough time to push it through, Duffin said.
"This is essentially the same bill as last year,"
said Mike Tracy, Craig's communication director in Boise.
"I think it will have strong bipartisan support."
In addition, Craig has written a letter to U.S. Department
of Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman asking her to consider a
"product for production" proposal.
He is asking her to approve a sale of Commodity Credit
Corporation inventories of sugar to beet processors who will
in turn negotiate with sugar beet producers to reduce their
plantings for 2001.
Tracy said Craig met with Veneman personally Thursday to
discuss the issue.
But Duffin warned that the USDA might not have jurisdiction
over the CCC. Currently lawyers are wrestling over who has
authority to release the CCC's sugar.
"I would like to see them get this solved before the
farmers plant -- so they wouldn't have all that expense into
it," Duffin said.
If the sugar is released for sale, it would also help the
market, Duffin added.
"We would like to see a program that would dispose of
that 800,000 tons of sugar so that it's not overhanging the
market," he said. |