Iraq Spending Bill Includes Farm Disaster Aid

The same bill that funds military operations in Iraq includes farm disaster aid that would benefit North Dakota producers But farmers aren t the only ones keeping a close eye on the bill local businesses are also keeping tabs on its progress Orlan Richter has been in the implement business for 25 years He says drought like last year s is hard on farmers and hard on the businesses they buy from When spring comes farmers have to put a lot of money into planting and fertilizing and don t feel good about buying equipment He says the news on disaster aid seems so bad it s hard to keep watching Orlan Richter Mandan Equipment Inc Frustrated Yeah We re equally as frustrated as our producers Because they have to have it to survive And we have to have to have it to survive So it s extremely frustrating to have to listen to this day after day Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan and Congressman Earl Pomeroy all voted in favor of the Iraq War spending bill The chairman of North Dakota s Republican Party says attaching the disaster aid bill to the Iraq legislation was a recipe for disaster