We have been renting the tillable acreage for a flat fee per year (dumb)...but now are in the process of realigning our position with the renter. Consequently I have become quite interested in farming programs. I have found out that our renter who rents other farms too and along with his brother farm them. They have collected over 950,000 dollars in 11 years in direct payments and commodity subsidies. My farm see none of that. I'm explaining this because I realize that farming is one of if not the best protected businesses out there. There seems to me to be programs all ready in force to aid farmers this year whose crops thus profits will be affected by the drought. Crop insurance is subsidized...as I understand it. Now the cattle people I have no idea aboout but just saying........
http://farm.ewg.org/subsidyprimer.php Briefly explains the farm programs.
If I am completely off base, please someone knowledgeable, enlighten me!
edit: from link in #4:
The USDA projects farm income to rise by 22 percent in the next year, following a decade that produced the five highest years ever for farm income. Household income on farms has exceeded the average household income for all Americans – and by an even greater margin, of all rural households – every year since 1996.
Subsidized agriculture’s appetite for taxpayer money is unabated, with fresh demands this year for farm disaster aid. Members of Congress of both parties from states and districts with commodity crop interests, backed by the powerful Ag lobby, continue to stave off real reform. The Congressional agriculture committees have twice rebuffed President Obama’s efforts to trim payments to wealthy farmers, and former President George W. Bush’s veto of the farm bill was overridden.
EWG’s farm subsidy database also details how federal spending on the taxpayer-funded crop insurance program rivals other farm subsidies. In 2010, taxpayers spent $4.7 billion supporting crop insurance.
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