Farm subsidies are an issue about which I know almost nothing . . . but I gotta ask . . . .

. . . . why do we have them?

It seems to me, just guessing and going on gut instinct, that, instead of price supports for "farmers", how about consumption supports for the poor and malnourished?

I put "farmers" in quotes to indicate that I differentiate between small, bucolic, idyllic, Norman Rockwell family farmers and the reality of agribusiness and mega growers. I'm okay with some sorts of supports for the true family farm. I am not okay with some giant company - even if still family owned - getting gazillions of our money.

Meanwhile, on the consumption side, we have millions who run out of food money before they run out of month. Let's subsidize them so the end of the month is as nourishing as the beginning of the month. Let's do that in a way that allows them variety in their diet, too. Fresh produce. Solid meat.

Am I off the rails here?

Unintended consequences?

? ? ? ? ? ?

Also there is the weather, flooding, crop disease, Monsanto, etc. to content with.

Take a look at this link: http://farm.ewg.org/top_recips.php?fips=18089&progcode=total

Divide the numbers by 15 for the number of years these subsidies cover. !!!!!!!!!!!! This is a snapshot page of the county my family's farm is in. I won't get into this any further as the subject makes my blood boil. These are not big corporate farmers.

edit: I wish the government subsidized my risk of doing business.

the book "The Worst Hard Time" by Timothy Egan (I can't recommend it enough - best book I have ever read, could not put it down, have re-read it so many times now!) (Won a Pulitzer prize too so it can't be all bad!) you'll understand why this program was put into place...

are even left? My Dad's family had two small farms in Nebraska. We lived there in the early 50's - 180 acres and 210 acres. I doubt they exist anymore, more than likely sold off when my great aunts died in the 60's.

Most of what is subsidized is stuff that's used in junk food - that keeps the price of junk food down. I don't think vegetables are subsidized. Unintended consequences. Junk food is cheaper than healthy food and now we have a nation of obese people to show for it.

http://www.fee.org/pdf/the-freeman/0604Folsom.pdf

The basic problem is trying to manage nationally critical food resources and a large part of environmental quality over multi-state regions. The efficient production of food and fiber involves pretty high amounts of economic risk. Our government relies on soft-controls of incentives as management methods.

Guarantees of availability and low-volatility prices desired by producers, processors and consumers requires something of a protective cushion against potentially devastating weather and epidemic blights/disease. In good years that surplus drives the price low...sometimes below the cost of production (which endangers farmers and strategically the future capacity to produce the cushion).

Ag subsidies have had a checkered history of success and failure. Because of the international character of some (such as sugar) various farm supports have also been involved in good and bad policy (again think of sugar and Cuba).

they are given out. Having a few cows or sheep on your acreage does not mean you are a farm. And if you lease your acreage to some one who does farm it, who gets the subsidy?

Too many of the rich are taking advantage of this subsidy, which was meant for the poor farmer.

We really need to clean up the system, and Obama will never do it.

zalinda

Not an historian on this, but believe program began when virtually all farms were 'family farms,' and in need of assistance to survive through hard times. NOT intended for 'agribusinesses,' which didn't exist at the time, but they're the ones reaping the benefits now, and its become a kind of 'third rail' issue, in farm states, where agri-lobbyists prey on all of us.