Sen. John Campbell, D-Windsor, waved a copy of a letter the secretary of agriculture had sent to dairy farmers in late February. It explained how to participate in the "Vermont Target Price Program." That's the state program that will provide dairy farmers with another payment to help them cope with bad weather, high fuel prices and low milk prices. It's a continuation of a program that provided dairy farmers with $8.6 million in assistance during the fall. Lawmakers approved money to cover one more payment this month.

Campbell was waving the letter in protest because he felt the second sentence made it seem the program was the governor's since it included the phrase "his direct payment program."

Campbell argued it was the Legislature's idea to send dairy farmers another payment this winter, not the Republican Gov. Jim Douglas'. The letter, the Democratic majority leader said, "is a total distortion of what really happened."

Secretary of Agriculture Roger Allbee wasn't available to comment Tuesday afternoon on the use of the adjective "his" to describe the direct payment program, but Anson Tebbetts, his new deputy, called back.

"What it looks like to me is a typo," Tebbetts explained. The intended adjective was "this" not "his."

Tebbetts added, "We all know it took all of us to get it done."

-- Nancy Remsen