the US Farm Bill

[IN555]

So if it is policy to always make food cheap how do you guys explain CRP? What about bio-diesel subsidies? What about when we had the Blenders Credit for ethanol? I agree insurance subsidies and direct payments influence more acres resulting in lower food cost but to say the entire farm bill is about cheap food is foolish.

[sarahlogan]

Fruit and vegetables, cereals, including rice, seeds are valuable for us to live. But food supply is in great scarcity right now. In fact, food inflation in January rose 1.8 percent year-over-year, according to the U.S. Consumer Price Index. Rising fuel prices, rising demand and bad weather are driving the cost for basic agricultural commodities worldwide steadily upward. So far, the impact of these factors has been most dramatic in meat prices. For example, due to tightening supplies, corn prices reached a 30-month high in January. Because corn is used more for livestock feed rather than consumed directly, the cost of livestock is rising. Plus, people in China, India and other developing countries with growing economies want to eat more meat. U.S. beef exports have risen nearly 1.5 billion pounds in the past five years. Read more here...

[Tom In Ont]

the farm bill has become nothing other than a cover up by the big socialist in control to disperse food stamps to the angry ilk that blasphemes anything that gets in there way of there free government handout life.
80% of the farm bill is just that. Somebody tell me why would the farm bill be in jeopardy?
Its merely disguised to have the greedy farmers as the fall out candidates of receivership.

[IHF]

So if it is policy to always make food cheap how do you guys explain CRP? What about bio-diesel subsidies? What about when we had the Blenders Credit for ethanol? I agree insurance subsidies and direct payments influence more acres resulting in lower food cost but to say the entire farm bill is about cheap food is foolish.

OK, maybe not the entire farm bill, but at least the main thrust of the actual farm part of it. The grain to fuel credits are easy to understand, in that they are directly related to ensuring a reliable source of food and fuel. Ethanol probably drives down gasoline costs more than enough to offset the increases meat and milk prices and seeding a biofuels industry is likely to help reduce dependance on foreign imports from countries that hate us. As for the CRP, other than some minor benefits from reduced erosion, I have no clue how anyone can justify the money spent on that program.

[SDakotan]

OK, maybe not the entire farm bill, but at least the main thrust of the actual farm part of it. The grain to fuel credits are easy to understand, in that they are directly related to ensuring a reliable source of food and fuel. Ethanol probably drives down gasoline costs more than enough to offset the increases meat and milk prices and seeding a biofuels industry is likely to help reduce dependance on foreign imports from countries that hate us. As for the CRP, other than some minor benefits from reduced erosion, I have no clue how anyone can justify the money spent on that program.

I think the last sentence from IHF can be used to sum up most of the problems in this country. "One mans pork is another mans project". OK, so a farmer can't see how CRP is worth the money the program costs, fine. Now go ask the conservation groups how the hell you justify givng benefits to millionare farmers, I bet 99% of them would think that the benfits a farmer receives aren't justifyable either. So in a effort to be elected or re-elected our politicians give money to both programs to appease both sides. JMO.

[roger7]

Oh yee of short memories. The CRP was brought about as a least expensive method of supply management during a time, before ethanol, when American farmers were producing themselves into extended poverty and death. Rural banks were failing every week and land prices weren't worth a chit. As the rest of the world adapts to the technology we have been using for the last 15 years and exports are no longer much of a part of our marketing system we will again learn what it feels like to produce ourselves into poverty.
We farmers don't produce food, we produce raw materials for the food industry. Their goal is to buy those raw materials at the lowest possible price, just as they want to buy their labor at the lowest possible price to creat the highest possible returns for their management and owners, not necessarily stockholders. Blenders credits and ethanol import tariffs have disappeared in this effort. Look for more chipping away at the ethanol industry, the only thing that has put some money in farmers pockets since WWII. R7

[H. Bell]

I would have to agree with Roger7. And as they make the land go up look who's buying it, the politicians, the doctors, lawyers, teachers, police and fire pension funds. They all benefit from the ponze scheme. Buy it, blow it up big, sell it, pop the bubble and let it crash, buy it again. Couple of cycles like we've had, and you can retire pretty comfortable. In my life time, if I'd known when to buy and sell, I'd be in a lot better shape than I'm in. They only let that info out to the select few.

[glowplug]

EWG is one of the major anti-farm stealth organizations. While they're quick to demonize the 15% of the Farm Program that goes to farmers, they're mum on the 85% that goes to SNAP.

If the Farm Program goes down, we must insist that it all goes down.

[drdiederich]

Glo, debate the farm bill portion in the farm bill. I am not sure why you need to bring up SNAP every time any discussion is held on the merits of farm policy. Keep the SNAP references in a SNAP discussion. Not everything is about SNAP. Furthermore, just because SNAP is there doesn't make the farm portion of the farm bill any more legit. The whole, "they got a subsidy, worry about them instead of mine" argument is tiring. Pointing fingers at something else to deflect criticism never yields a victory. Trying to always hold progress hostage to get what you want doesn't accomplish anything and is part of the problem in Washington. Everything should be voted on separately on it's own merits.

[glowplug]

Well DR, the SNAP portion of the Farm Bill is not voted on separately. It's included so the 15% part will pass Congress-Senate.

My goals are not pointing SNAP out. My goals are the 100% elimination of the Farm Program which includes SNAP.

SNAP is no more legitimate than the 15% that goes to farmers.