Ag secretary defends President Bush's farm bill

摘要

The long-term consequences of high budget deficits could be devastating to Southern farmers, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said Monday, defending the Bush administration's decision to slice farm programs as a way to stem the federal deficit.The former Nebraska governor toured a Lonoke County farm at the invitation of U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln (news, bio, voting record), D-Ark., who hoped the trip would underscore the particular challenges for Southern farmers, whose production costs rangehigher than their counterparts in other regions of the country.