Washington, D.C. (July 28, 2005) - Family farm and ranch leaders belonging to National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC) member organizations expressed dismay after the U.S. House voted in favor of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

"I'm sure the CEOs of ADM, Cargill, and Con Agra are popping the champagne corks tonight, because the multinational corporations are the big CAFTA winners," said George Naylor, an Iowa farmer, President of the NFFC and member of the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. "But the vast majority of citizens in the U.S, the Dominican Republic, and Central American countries are the losers."

"Supporters promised CAFTA will bring prosperity and security for all countries bound by the agreement. However, we heard those same pledges during the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) debate," Dena Hoff, secretary of the NFFC and chair of the Western Organization of Resource Councils. "NAFTA has resulted in economic devastation that has sparked massive migration from rural areas to cities and across borders. We fear CAFTA will make those results worse. If that happens, we intend to hold those who negotiated and those
who voted for CAFTA accountable."

For more than two years, the National Family Farm Coalition worked with a broad and massive coalition of citizens and organizations concerned with social and economic justice in the Americas to fight against CAFTA.

"The National Family Farm Coalition salutes the massive organized grassroots opposition to CAFTA. We thank those in the House and the Senate who stood up to the corporate lobbyists and voted against CAFTA, thereby truly representing the interests of America's working people, including farmers and ranchers," said John Kinsman, a Wisconsin dairy farmer, president of Family Farm Defenders and NFFC executive committee member.

"The multinational corporations shouldn't take too much time to swill their victory champagne, because the fight continues," said Naylor. "The National Family Farm Coalition will work with our partners all around the world to defeat the agribusiness corporate agenda of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other unfair trade agreements."