[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14554]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    ENERGY AND AMERICAN AGRICULTURE

  (Mr. LATTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, I have the honor of representing the number 
one agricultural district in Ohio. During the recess, I visited three 
family farms to find out what issues are on farmers' minds. After 
speaking with these farmers, they unanimously agreed that the rising 
cost of energy is the number one issue facing American agriculture.
  Diesel and fertilizer are just two of the petroleum-based products a 
farmer uses each day. And as the costs of these products rise, their 
livelihoods continue to be jeopardized.
  One beef farmer told me as of right now, he is preparing to lose 
money on his cattle when they go to slaughter later this year because 
of the rising cost of oil. He added that he wasn't even sure he would 
even have a herd next year. All of the farmers agreed that two ways to 
lower energy prices and reduce our dependence on Middle East oil would 
be to drill in ANWR and also off the Outer Continental Shelf.
  Unless something is done soon, more and more farmers will be forced 
to make the hard choice of whether or not to continue their livelihood 
of feeding Americans and the rest of the world.

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