Nearly 100 farmers and ranchers spent their Wednesday morning on the rolling hills of a farmstead south of Mandan, learning about pending legislation that could have a big effect on their livelihoods.

The gathering, held at Kevin and Yvonne Schmidt's farm, featured Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson and Tom Buis, president of the national Farmers Union. It gave those gathered a chance to ask questions about the farm bill, which will be up for debate next month in the Senate.

Considered every five years, the farm bill sets policy on everything from crop subsidy payments to rural economic development and programs such as food stamps.

Its current incarnation was passed in 2002 and is set to expire this fall.

"North Dakota is a very, very agricultural state," Johnson said. "So of course what the government does in policy has an awful lot to say about how this economy thrives or survives."

Conrad said he's hoping the Senate can improve on the version that passed the House in July. The House bill increased spending from $49.5 billon a year to $56.8 billion per year, including increases for nutrition and conservation.

Since discussion on the farm bill began last spring, North Dakota's delegation has been pushing for the addition of a permanent disaster title in the farm bill. This addition, which was not included in the House version, would preclude the need for separate legislation to aid farmers in years of severe weather conditions.

Conrad told farmers Wednesday that he'll continue to fight for permanent disaster aid. He said he's working on a compromise with colleagues that would add a $5 billion disaster title to the farm bill without taking funding from other parts of the bill. Saying public details could damage the negotiations, he declined to elaborate.

Farmers had plenty of questions and comments for the officials Wednesday.

Roger Zetocha, a farmer from Sargent County, complained that farmers were getting a bad rap in the media with stories that focused on big subsidy checks and ignored the average farmer.

"They're making us out to be the bad guys when we're not," he said.

Terry Weckerly, a farmer from Hurdsfield, asked why more wasn't being done to increase the target price for wheat - the level under which farmers receive various forms of government support. He said this simple change would solve a lot of the problems for wheat farmers.

Conrad, in answering his question, said while such a move would be fair, it would also be impractical given the need for support from areas that grow no wheat.

"I tell you that what we can do and what we'd like to do are not the same," he said.

(Reach reporter Jonathan Rivoli at 223-8482 or jonathan.rivoli@;bismarcktribune.com.)