Byron Dorgan: “I do not want those listening who do not know anything about barley to believe that barley is only used to produce beer.…”

“I do not want those listening who do not know anything about barley to believe that barley is only used to produce beer. Of course, malting barley is used in the production of beer. But beef barley is used for a great amount of animal feed in this country. The Senator from North Dakota, Senator Conrad, makes a point. I would like to stress it. There is not any other commodity in the farm bill that is affected like this. Every other commodity got what they were promised they would get. But this farm bill contains a provision that says barley will get 46 cents a bushel, and then now it contains another provision that says, ``Oops. Oops''. Someone made a mistake. Oops. We are $35 million short.'' ``Oops'' does not mean very much unless that $35 million comes out of your pocket. Then ``oops'' is a real serious problem. All we ask is that we find a way somehow to address this dilemma. The failure to address it now means it will not get addressed. That is why we do not want to miss this moment. We are not talking about some mountain. We are talking about a relatively small problem that can be fixed--a big problem for barley growers, but a problem that can be fixed without great difficulty, in my judgment, Madam President, I yield the floor.”