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For the last few months, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has traveled across the country, seeking input from farmers and others on how the 2007 Farm Bill should be structured. He has gotten a wide array of responses that range from keeping the current farm policy intact to making major changes such as eliminating some farm subsidies.

The mixed set of responses comes as no surprise to Adam Sharp, OFBF's director of national affairs. Sharp has been compiling the responses from a farm bill discussion guide sent this summer to all county Farm Bureau presidents. The goal of the discussion guide was to get members' opinions about the structure of the next farm bill and related international agricultural trade policy.

"There is definitely a wide range of opinions," he said. "It's no surprise that some favor keeping farm subsidies the way they are while others are interested in modification. But in general, most support the current programs while expressing interest in improved and expanded conservation programs and inclusion of other sectors of ag in various programs."

Sharp has summarized Ohio members' opinions about farm policy as well as gathered comments made at a recent American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) meeting about the next farm bill to help OFBF's state policy development committee. The committee will meet in early November to consider all county policy suggestions approved at county annual meetings and to finalize proposed policies that delegates will approve at OFBF's annual meeting Nov. 30 to Dec. 2.

"With so much talk about what the next farm bill should look like, the committee has a lot of information and opinions to consider," Sharp said.

Many county members said there is a need for a strong crop insurance program, adequate safety net programs and better risk management tools, Sharp said. OFBF members also have said they need a level playing field so they can compete with other countries and expressed interest in being more compliant with World Trade Organization regulations.

Writing the next farm bill could be harder this time because federal budgets are tighter and pressure is mounting from the international community for the United States to cut back on farm subsidies, Sharp said. Making changes in U.S. support programs can only happen if there is "substantial, ambitious and quantifiable expansion in access to markets," AFBF President Bob Stallman said recently, noting that 27 percent of all U.S. farm cash receipts are generated by exports.

"There needs to be more balance in agricultural trade," Sharp said. "Ohio Farm Bureau's goal is to look at all these complicated issues and develop good, solid national policy that can be submitted to AFBF for consideration."

Caption: OFBF Executive Vice President Jack Fisher (left) talks with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns before the start of a Farm Bill Forum held in September during Farm Science Review.