Disagreement between the U.S. House and Senate on authorizing a new five-year farm bill should be resolved like regular families are resolving their financial issues: When it doubt, go the cheaper route.

Financing the $280 billion, five-year farm bill has been the issue. The Senate has added some $6.5 billion in additional expense that would trigger "paygo" rules the Democratic Congress reinstituted in the last two years. That rule, long seen as a successful way to impose fiscal discipline on Congress, requires new spending or tax cuts be offset by a reduction in spending or tax increases so as not to add to the federal deficit.

The House and Senate should either apply paygo rules to the compromise bill or jettison the extra Senate costs. The Senate bill includes $4 billion for a permanent disaster relief fund for farmers. It's a nice idea, and one that is hard for politicians to oppose, but it seems an unnecessary expense at times of historically high farm prices and an disaster situation that isn't readily visible. The idea of a permanent disaster fund is aimed partly at stemming the politics of disaster funding that arises with every calamity. Still, it's not the time for this kind of spending.

The Senate bill also includes a number of tax breaks to encourage wind energy, biodiesel fuels and even farmers battling with endangered species laws. Again, the $2.5 billion price tag seems extravagant in these tough times. There are a number of tax breaks and incentives in the Energy Bill Congress passed last year.

There was a suggestion that research into cellulosic ethanol be cut in order to save some of the tax breaks or pay for the disaster fund, but the dollars are relatively small to do that and developing alternative ethanol sources will be a good long-term economic strategy for the farm economy.

Congress should be reminded that it continues to operate in an economy that will get tighter and tighter as we move toward retirement of the baby boom generation. The country has many other needs competing for a shrinking amount of dollars. In fact, about half of the price tag - $2 billion - for the farm disaster program could cover most of the increase needed in the annual veterans appropriation.

Now is not the time to be create largesse for a part of the economy that is doing just fine.