LUMSDEN, Sask. – U.S. agriculture secretary Mike Johanns resigned late last week to try his hand at elected politics, and his Canadian counterpart praised him as a friend of Canada.
Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz said he had spoken to Johanns earlier in the week about the U.S. decision to open the border to older Canadian cattle in November.
“I didn’t know he would be resigning within days, but I thanked him,” Ritz said. “He has been helpful on many of our files.”
Read Also
New coal mine proposal met with old concerns
A smaller version of the previously rejected Grassy Mountain coal mine project in Crowsnest Pass is back on the table, and the Livingstone Landowners Group continues to voice concerns about the environmental risks.
Although the U.S. border closed to Canadian cattle in May 2003 when BSE was discovered in an Alberta herd, Johanns is widely credited with having fought protectionist interests in his country to first open the border to younger cattle and then pushing for Rule 2, which is meant to complete the opening by mid-November.
In his Sept. 19 letter of resignation to U.S. president George Bush, Johanns sketched a portrait of the state of American agriculture that would leave Canadian farm leaders envious.
“American agriculture is stronger than ever before in history,” wrote the farm boy from Iowa who rose to be agriculture secretary and now hopes to become a senator from the Midwest.
He provided the evidence:
- Projected 2007 net farm income will be a record $86 billion.
- Debt-to-asset ratios on American farms are the lowest in almost half a century.
- Average farm household income in 2007 is predicted to rise to $81,500, almost $20,000 above average household incomes in the United States.
- Farm equity has been rising at $200 billion per year, now touching $2 trillion.
- The value of agricultural exports will hit $79 billion this year, the fourth consecutive annual record.
Johanns also said he leaves convinced that the latest version of the U.S. farm bill that maintains reduced but still generous farm supports and more emphasis on land conservation set-asides will pass through Congress this year. It already has made it through the House of Representatives and is expected to clear the Senate this fall.
The litany of U.S. farm good news reinforces the Canadian farm lobby argument that while the Americans are coming off some of their best years with falling debt levels and rising income and assets, Canadian agriculture has suffered through four of its worst years in history with farm losses and record program payments to keep the sector afloat.
Even as income prospects improve in some Canadian farm sectors, economists say the sector remains less than competitive in many ways with its American counterpart.
Johanns’ departure, the latest in a series of defections from the cabinet of the unpopular lame-duck president, comes at a sensitive time.
Farm bill politics continue to be played out in Congress while World Trade Organization talks have reached a make-or-break point in Geneva that will require compromise by major players such as the U.S. if success is to be possible this year.
It likely will take several months to find and confirm a replacement agriculture secretary, creating a leadership vacuum in the U.S. at a crucial time.
