Most South Dakotans surveyed by Sen. Tim Johnson about what they want to see included in the new farm bill favored country-of-origin labeling, caps on farm payments, payments restricted to operators rather than absentee owners and a permanent agriculture-disaster program.

Johnson didn't reveal the exact number of people surveyed but said there were hundreds of respondents. This week, he sent the results of his farm bill survey to Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. The Ag Committee will shape the Senate version of the farm bill. The House passed its farm bill earlier this summer.

Johnson said he sent the farm bill survey to farmers, ranchers and other interested people in South Dakota.

"Hundreds of people across the state sent me their thoughts on the farm bill, and I wanted to be sure their positions are considered as part of the coming reauthorization," Johnson said.

Among the survey's findings, according to Johnson:

* More than 75 percent of survey participants felt that the 2002 Farm Bill works "very well" or "okay" for South Dakota.

* More than 78 percent of respondents would like to see legislation in the farm bill to more quickly enact country-of-origin labeling.

* The majority of respondents want farm payments capped somewhere between $100,000 and $250,000, with no loopholes allowing larger payments. Some favored capping acreage instead of payments.

* Most respondents said farm payments should go to primary operators of the land rather than to owners not actively participating in farming.

* More than 90 percent said creating a program to deal with agricultural disaster is very or somewhat important.

* Most said Farm Service Agency office closures would pose significant problems for South Dakota farmers and ranchers.

* More than 70 percent of participants said U.S. trade agreements have not worked or were only marginally working for South Dakota agriculture.

* A large portion of respondents are on a family farm that has been engaged in agriculture for about or more than 100 years. The next-largest group consisted of those who had been farming for 50-plus years. These two groups combined to make up nearly the entire pool of responses. A very small group had been new farmers or those farming for fewer than than 30 years.