Assistant Editor

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Hoosier farmboy who went to Washington has been named the nation’s highest agricultural policymaker, at least temporarily.

Last Thursday, President Bush elevated Charles “Chuck” Conner from deputy secretary of USDA to its acting secretary to replace Mike Johanns, who, according to news reports, resigned to pursue a U.S. Senate seat in his home state of Nebraska. Conner’s appointment took effect at midnight Friday.

Whether Bush will recommend Conner for Senate confirmation as his third USDA secretary remains to be seen. “Most speculation in agricultural newsletters and the press have included Chuck Conner,” Andy Fisher, press secretary for Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), said Thursday. “I’ve not seen any other names at this point.” Groups such as the National Farmers Union, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc. and the National Pork Producers Council have weighed in with positive comments on their work with Conner and their hopes for the 2007 farm bill based on his involvement.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), the Senate ag committee chair, released a statement agreeing that Conner was “a good choice” for acting secretary and that he anticipates a “smooth transition” away from Johanns in the continuing 2007 farm bill development.

Johanns has been criticized for leaving at this stage of the bill, which still hasn’t garnered a Senate draft with only days remaining until the 2002 farm bill’s expiration. Fisher said Conner has been USDA’s point person on the bill, representing the administration’s position in House hearings and drafting, and Johanns’ departure should have “no effect” on its outcome.

“There are thousands of people working in USDA,” Fisher said of Conner adjusting to new duties. “I don’t think he’ll have any problem keeping focused on this.”

“I think when the Senate markup begins, we haven’t determined who will be there to represent the administration,” Conner said, though he anticipates a “seamless transition.”

He added he is up on the secretary’s duties, since he and Johanns worked “hand in hand” and made joint decisions on policy and personnel matters. He’s especially familiar with the farm bill. “This has been a two-year process for us,” he explained.

On Sept. 30, the current farm bill will expire and, as yet, there is no final bill in sight on which Congress and the president can agree. The Senate hasn’t even begun drafting and Bush will likely not sign the House’s proposal as is.

“This all depends on who you talk to,” said Fisher, as to whether an extension is in order. He said many programs are on “auto-pilot” and will not actually expire until next year. “The bottom line is, nothing changes as of Sept. 30.”

Conner explained the bill goes through the 2007 crop marketing year, so nothing will come to a standstill at the end of the month. “For the most part, we think we can keep this thing held together,” he said.

The National Assoc. of Wheat Growers (NAWG) sent Harkin a letter last week requesting extension of the current farm bill, in which it noted its members’ unique position of having to plant their 2008 crop soon, not knowing what a new farm bill might bring with respect to payments in times of short crops due to weather or other disaster. It pointed out “a number of bankers who serve our grower-members have called our office to inquire about the safety net, and we have no answer to give them.”

“It doesn’t look like at this point that we’ll be working on a short-term extension,” said Kate Cyrul, spokesperson for Harkin. She said the Senate will likely pass a continuing resolution for its noncrop provisions, but that Harkin is working on a proposal with the ag committee and expects a new bill to be enacted without any sort of extension.

Conner said USDA has met with wheat representatives several times, but that the government is not in the business of determining how much wheat acreage is planted, and that growers must base their decisions on the market prices they’re getting. With those prices “double any possible government support prices” right now, he does not believe the immediate lack of a new farm bill should have much impact on wheat planting decisions.

No ‘tough decisions’

Conner’s sticking point on a new bill may be the Democrat-led House’s proposal to require foreign corporations doing business in the United States to pay American tax rates instead of cheaper offshore rates, also called “the Bermuda loophole.” He, like many Republicans, refer to it as a tax increase.

“This is my sixth farm bill, and I can guarantee none of those have raised taxes on any Americans,” Conner said, adding one can go back to the first farm bill in 1933 and not find tax increases enacted within them. He said the Senate “has heard that, loudly” and he does not believe it will go in the same direction.

He said while Congress mostly agrees with the administration’s priorities of energy, rural development and conservation, thus far it has been unwilling to make “tough decisions” to fund those programs without higher taxes; for example, cutting payments to “Park Avenue farmers” – landowners with an annual income of $1 million who receive subsidies.

The House dropped the cap from $2.5 million to $1 million; Bush favors even lower. “If you’re above a certain income threshold, we’ve said, ‘More power to you; you’ve realized the American dream. You don’t need this,’” Conner said.

Conner, a native of Otterbein, Ind., worked for Lugar in various capacities for 17 years. Most notably, he was the senator’s majority staff director from 1995-97 when Lugar served as chair of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee; he was minority staff director from 1987-95. From 2001 until his USDA appointment in 2005, he was special assistant to the president for Agricultural Trade and Food Assistance on the National Economic Council.

“Obviously, Chuck Conner is a person with strong qualifications and background, working in the administration for a long time,” Fisher said of the 1980 Purdue University grad.

Dr. Victor Lechtenberg, interim provost for Purdue, has known Conner since the early 1980s; Conner was in his early days of working for Lugar, and Lechtenberg was in ag research administration. The two worked together to craft and gain authorization for programs for research and extension education. He explained he would present the academic “idealist” point of view and Conner would help him present to Congress in a politically viable manner.

“Universities couldn’t have a stronger advocate for agricultural research than Chuck Conner,” he said. “I think Chuck’s a great (permanent) choice. I don’t know what the president’s mind is, but I think he’s a great choice for secretary.”

This farm news was published in the Sept. 26, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.