Drought Feared as Precursor to Farm Overproduction

The drought that is scorching crops in the United States could also jeopardize moves to reform farming on both sides of the Atlantic, European Community officials and farm industry analysts say.

They say farmers may see the drought as a green light to plant more, but production cuts are key to reforms in both the United States and Europe.

In the United States, the government is allowing farmers to bring land back into production that it had previously paid them to leave fallow.

“There may only be a drought once every seven years, but sure as death, there are going to be farmers increasing plantings next year,” an EC official said.

In Europe, where many people still remember wartime food shortages, officials are concerned that farmers’ arguments that it is prudent for governments to build big stocks of food will win support.

Efforts to Cut Surplus

That is the last thing the European Commission, the EC’s executive body, or the community farm ministers meeting in Brussels want.

The commission has been coordinating painstaking efforts to get its 12 members to start cutting food surpluses. Many analysts argue that farm subsidies have encouraged European farmers to boost production, while much of their harvest ended up in warehouses.

Penalties for overproduction are part of a package of farm reforms agreed at the EC’s summit in February.

“The fear is that the drought may ease pressure in international negotiations,” an EC official said.