Karnal bunt concerns relayed
Wheat growers meet with officials

By JULIET BRISKIN | Central Texas Edition

August 30, 2001 -- Wheat producers from the San Saba area gathered on Aug. 23 for a public meeting to hear the latest information concerning Karnal bunt disease.

According to a Texas A&M news release, Karnal bunt has a severe financial impact on the wheat industry in Central and North Texas due to its quarantine status and a lack of marketing options for infected wheat.

Currently there are six counties in Texas that are regulated for Karnal bunt. They include Archer, Baylor, Young, Throckmorton and portions of San Saba and McCulloch. Within these regulated counties it is mandatory to have seed tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, assisted by the Texas Department of Agriculture. If the seed is free of Karnal bunt spores, it must be treated as prescribed by the USDA.

According to TDA, spore-free seed from these regulated counties can only be planted inside the regulated counties. If seed from any county tests positive for Karnal bunt spores, it can no longer be planted and can only be used as grain. Treated seed that tests positive for spores cannot be used for any purpose and must be disposed of properly.

"Karnal bunt is the weakest in terms of a disease, but is the most damaging in terms of economics," stated Travis Miller, associate department head and Extension program leader for soil and crop sciences at Texas A&M.

With the current quarantine, Karnal bunt has become one of the major agricultural issues in Texas.

One of the main topics discussed at the public meeting was compensation for growers affected by the quarantine. Chuck Schwalbe, associate deputy administrator from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reported that APHIS is currently studying options to the compensation package that is now in effect.

"We have some unfinished business left with compensation," he stated. "We are listening to all comments made on Karnal bunt compensation and are addressing them all."

According to Schwalbe, APHIS recognizes that problems exist with the current compensation system and that it has negatively affected the wheat industry.

According to TDA representative David Kostroun, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs is "very engaged in this issue. She is very concerned about the impact of Karnal bunt on the Texas wheat industry.

"When the Karnal bunt outbreak was discovered in Texas, Commissioner Combs immediately contacted U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman to request that compensation be reinstated," said Kostroun. "Once Commissioner Combs learned that compensation was to be reinstated, she asked that the process be expedited."

Another hot topic at the meeting was deregulation of Karnal bunt.

"What we need to be working towards now," said Kostroun, "is deregulation, not eradication. This is not going to happen overnight, but we have a time line and a goal of total deregulation in the future."

Following the presentations by the speakers, meeting attendees were invited to comment and pose questions. Joe Bob Whitaker of Olney stated that he was being killed by the regulations currently in effect. "I'm a very young farmer compared to others in the area and ya'll are breaking me this year," he said.

According to Whitaker, "counting on politicians to do anything is a waste of time. They say they understand, but then they don't do anything."

Whitaker's seed weed tested positive for Karnal bunt spores and he is not not allowed to plant even though he plans to graze cattle, not harvest the wheat. "The only option I have is to graze cattle," he said, "but without the wheat, I can't do it." If he plants his condemned seed weed he faces a $250,000 fine.

"Everyone knows this is just a trade barrier," he said. "Farming is hard enough without these regulations." After the meeting Whitaker said he felt patronized and frustrated.