We're going to get started for our afternoon session. We did that bungee throw as our method of keeping things in line this morning. It worked pretty well. This afternoon we have a couple of defensive linemen from the Cornhuskers that will be here. If anybody goes over the six minutes, they will be tackled immediately. That's how we're going handle that.

First up this afternoon Dan Gerdes, Peter Mishek and Scott Houck. Dan, if you would come up, we'll get started.

DAN GERDES: I want to begin by thanking Governor Johanns, Senators Kerrey and Hagel and Congressman Barrett for this opportunity to they and also for the two Jims to sit here and listen to us.

My name is Daniel Gerdes. My wife Mary and daughter Annette and son-in-law Nathan Johnson run a diversified farming operation in southeast Nebraska near Johnson. I am a fifth generation farmer. My daughter will make the sixth generation. And I was born on the farm I was -- that I am now on but at that time I was born in the tenant house and now I live in the big house.

So we raise wheat, soybeans, corn, and pork all of which are heavily dependent on the export market. Pork is one of the major components of our income. My views of the world trading situation may be somewhat influenced by my experience as serving ten years as a member of the Nebraska Wheat Board and also as my experience as immediate past Chairman of the U.S. Wheat Association. Having said that, I will tell you that my testimony is my view as a producer rather than that of any organization.

U.S. producers know that exports are a must to that trade benefits both the importer and the exporter. And we also know that fast trade benefits all who trade, and I'm a great believer that we have to get this fast-track thing going.

U.S. tariffs average on our imports somewhere in the 5 to 8 percent area where the rest of the world is near 50 percent. And I don't think we should ask our ag producers to drop further until the rest of the world comes down at least somewhere near where we're at.

And the U.S. has fewer trade-distorting practices than the rest of the world, so it is going to be harder to negotiate a fairer system just because of this. And it seems to me like three years ought to be adequate time to negotiate this.

I have had the opportunity to travel the world and in doing so, my eyes were opened to some of the inequities in the world trading practices. And all of these areas must be addressed, but a couple of them that come to mind right NOW are the state trading enterprises. Either we need to eliminate them or at the very least to allow their farmers the option of in and out. They admit to selling different prices, in other words, price discrimination to different customers, selling high where we are sanctioned out and we talked about sanctions earlier this morning, and lower in our -- undercutting prices where we compete head to head.

I personally have had millers in the Philippines tell me that, get the best price you can from the U.S. and we'll beat you by 7 to $10 a ton. This is a common practice particularly from our friends to the north.

Exports subsidies. How can a farmer compete with the government treasury? It's impossible. You know, the American farmer is sick and tired of being the residual supplier of the world.

Generally our products exceed the quality in any other part of the world, and we have a better variety of products. Both of these above-mentioned STE's and export subsidies were key elements in the farmer's expectancy of the Freedom to Farm Act. Most farmers would prefer to get their income from the market, not the government. But with our backs to the wall, we may have no alternative but to ask for more help from the government.

There are several things that are imperative that Congress implement if we are going to approach the WTO talks with any hope of correcting these inequities in the world trade.

Like I mentioned earlier, fast track. We must be able to negotiate these problems.

Export enhancement programs, perhaps we may need to reimplement just in order that we have a bargaining chip with the rest of the world. We try to unilaterally give up this hope that the rest of the world would follow but it didn't.

Sanitary and phytosanitary. Somehow or another once we get the sound science answers, we need some way to institute a way to enforce compliance on the issues that have gone through the settlement and do it quickly, not let it drag on for years. When it drags on for years, you lose the support of the people that it is supposed to help, the ag producers.

In conclusion, those of us in agriculture feel that agriculture was sold out in the Uruguay Round somewhat, and there is some reluctance by farmers to enter into more negotiations. However, we realize this is the only way trade problems can be solved. Thank you.