Bob Stallman Quotations

I can't emphasize enough the importance of biotechnology and why it is so critical that we stop this initiative before it makes any more headway, ... A victory against biotechnology in Sonoma County would not just be symbolic; it would do real damage to agriculture and a treasured way of life.

We are fighting tooth and nail to defeat backtracking by the EU on the framework agreement on market access, not to mention the developing countries -- a lot of them are viewing this negotiation as: 'We get to have everything given to us and we don't have to do anything in return.'

Most of that increase they note is due to high world oil prices. The same study reflects that ethanol affects prices by just a few pennies.

The problems we are having right now getting any kind of ambition in the market access area is an indicator of the reluctance of the rest of the world to go in that direction,

Biotechnology is not just about farming. It's about business; it's about our future, ... It doesn't affect just farmers; it affects everyone.

Farmers are feeling the pain of rising input costs, including energy prices, and fertilizer prices that have tripled in just the last few years. They are clearly looking for relief from costs pressures, which they cannot pass along to their customers.

Farm Bureau remains committed to achieving significant progress in market access. Opening markets is the only way to achieve real trade liberalization. We further oppose any effort to single out cotton on domestic supports. Instead, cotton must be treated in the same realm and timeframe as all other commodities.

So you do have your work cut out for you, ... I'm not going to pretend this is going to be easy here in this county. But other counties have managed to defeat these kinds of initiatives.

Action taken by Japan today to halt U.S. beef imports is an unfortunate temporary setback to U.S. cattle producers, particularly in light of recent success to re-open the market. The vertebral column found in the shipments does not pose a health risk since the animal was less than 30 months of age.

It's a sad day when we're getting excited about an end-date in brackets.

The biggest driver of course are ever-increasing high oil prices.

I'm sure our producers are going to be concerned about this, ... significant short-term economic challenges for some commodities and specific farm types.