U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns says the federal government must move beyond paying farmers to produce corn, soybeans and other crops and find ways to boost rural economies. "That's what the future of farm policy has to be about," he said in a meeting with the Des Moines Register editorial board. He said government payments to farmers will be a hotly contested issue in the next year as Congress rewrites the farm law. "There is a spirited debate going on in this country about farm subsidies," Johanns said. But, we can deliver a good farm bill, despite the controversy over subsidy payments."