Every Kansas farmer and rancher is directly affected by world trade or the lack of it right now. The crafting of an equitable world trade policy can make or break Kansas agriculture. Our state is gifted with resources which allow us to produce much more than we can consume at home. Exports are a necessity. We consistently rank fifth or sixth among the 50 states in ag exports. In 1997, these exports were worth 2.7 billion.

However, the declining world economy and lack of exports had a direct affect on farm prices. And the affects do not stop at the farm gates. Ag exports support approximately 34,000 jobs in Kansas, both on farm and food processing. The percentage for cash receipts attributed to agriculture has risen from 26 percent to 29 percent since 1991.

To illustrate the importance of trade, I'd like to review some of Kansas' top exports. Live animals and red meat are worth more than $600 million. Feed grains and feed products worth 600 million. Wheat and wheat products, 500 million. Soybeans, 300 million. Hides and skins, 283 million. The sheer volume of our production requires fair trade and access to market.

To kind of illustrate this point, during this past decade the total U.S. wheat exports have averaged 1.1 billion bushels per year. Kansas alone could make up 50 percent of that national wheat export. When our state alone can meet half of the total export, that means we have some movement that is needed to be done to export all of the rest of the crops.

With this in mind, it's obvious there are several areas of concern for Kansas. Included among them are the European Union's use of export subsidies, the actions of the monopoly marketing boards, and the questions regarding U.S. trading partner's compliance with current trade agreement obligations. Negotiations should build on increased market access, further reduce export subsidies, continue the reform of internal supports, and work to eliminate import restrictions that are based on arbitrary and unsubstantiated health and safety claims.

Equity is vitally important for exports of our products. Measures taken against our products or our trading partners must be based on sound science. All nations should be held to the same food and safety requirements.

In conclusion, Kansas' unique problem is our ability to produce vast quantities that must be sold somewhere else. That remains a priority for us. We're also working to find value-added ag products and hope that these and our livestock products can someday compete on a level playing field and receive equal opportunity on a world market. I thank you for your attention. I tried to keep it brief because I understand that you all are experiencing it on a day-to-day basis, and I would like to hear what you have to say. So once again, thank you for this opportunity to appear before you on behalf of Kansas Department of Ag and Kansas producers.