AUSTIN -- Agriculture Secretary Johanns today urged corn and soybean growers to support the Central America Free Trade Agreement and President Bush's proposed FY06 budget cuts in agriculture spending. Johanns told the Commodity Classic, a joint convention of the corn and soybean growers, that CAFTA countries have duties as high as 35 percent on corn. Under CAFTA, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic would eliminate duties on yellow corn and other Central American countries would grant corn "preferential access," he said. Johanns added that the CAFTA countries have soybean duties as high as 20 percent, but that the new trade agreement would provide duty fee access to soybeans and soybean products. But in what appeared to be an acknowledgement of the difficulties of convincing Congress to approve CAFTA, Johanns said, "You've been such champions" of free trade, but "more work needs to be done." At a news conference afterward, Johanns also said CAFTA "is not going to impact" the sugar industry.

Johanns urged farmers to support Bush's proposed budget cuts because they have done so well economically during the Bush administration. Johanns said he would tell cotton farmers -- who have criticized the cuts -- that they are necessary in order to protect their children's future, because the current budget deficit is not sustainable. He said the budget plan to reduce marketing loan eligibility for all crops was developed before he arrived at the Agriculture Department, but he believes it was part of an effort to be "as fair as possible" in spreading the budget cuts among all farmers.

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