Thank goodness for farmers to feed our state and the world!

Thank goodness for farmers to feed our state and the world!

the farmers should be ashamed of themselves...no wonder you always see them driving new pickups.

i'm a farmer and i don't have a new p-u or had one since 1983 and i've never bought a new tractor. i've always put every nickle i could into my operation and in my high school educated, no college degreed opinion, if you eliminated all subsidies you will be at the mercy of the giant multi-national agricultural corporations or foriegn countries more than you are now. i will always grow what i need to survive and i know what hasn't been sprayed on it. can YOU MAKE THE SAME CLAIM? please direct all comments to me at rwntx@yahoo.com

having ginned cotton for over 30 years i know that some of my growers were colecting payments on the same crops at least 2 times.

If you knew they were getting paid twice you need to turn them as well as yourself in b/c you are just as guilty as they are. A FEW bad farmers give the majority of us a bad name and it's time to stop it.

as many as four wives of farmers in the county i live receive subsidies. three have full time (40 hrs/week) jobs and one is retired. this makes alot of sense. also the farmer with the most subsidies and farms less than others recieves twice as much as the next--because he is a paid lobbyist for farm subsidies.

Poor Farmers. This is how they afford race cars, fancy houses, hobby horse and buggies, and alcohol. Right?????????

Reading the above comments leaves me absolutely dumbfounded. Can people really be so dense?

Half the comments praise farmers as hardworking entrepreneurs. The other half damn them as blood-sucking leeches taking our tax dollars for new pick-up trucks.

Hasn't anybody read the results of the database on which they as supposedly commenting? A few farmers get a windfall. Most get a pittance. Why is that so hard to understand?

I farm mostly cotton in west texas. Although I grow other crops like peanuts and wheat. Ill tell all of you people who down the american farmer for receiving farm subsidies you are all idiots and 90% of you dont know at all what goes on, on the american farm. Yes we have pickups and we live in houses and we have some toys and we have alittle more things than the average joe. But there are two things that come to mind when i hear someone say why do farmers need subsidies when they have a new truck and they have a boat or something of this. First I dont want to receive subsidies, you are right maybe we shouldnt, but you and every other american citizen will have to pay more for your fibers and food at the grocery stores and department stores.For example cotton is around .50 cents per pound. In relation with every thing else such as inflation, the price of fuel, the price of equipment, the cost of seed, the cost of chemicals, I think you get the point, we should be selling cotton for 1.97 per pound. Would you be happy making up the diffrence when you go shoping for your clothes? I doubt it. You would complain and throw a fit. By the way our cotton subsidies dont even come close to making up the diffrence. Second of all most of us are the hardest working, 15 hours a day 80 hours a week, people in the United States. Why should I feel bad about having a boat, spending time out on a lake with my family when we get a little brake on the farm. We bust our ass every day of the year so that yall can buy $20 jeans and $10 shirts. The srange thing is I dont hear anybody complain obout the price of vehicles and other things such of this doubling and tripling in price but you can bett that you would complain about those favorite jeans of yours that would cost you three times as much as you buy them for now.

Give me a Break!

I am a widow trying to make a living with a small business of my own. No one is going to give me money if I don't get my work done or find more customers to work for. My overhead is always there and no one helps me with it. Where is my help when costs go up?

Face it, this is another form of welfare, plain and simple.

I have been going to the farm subsidy site for a few years now. I see my brother in law and his wife have received close to $160,000 in two years. YET they receive free school lunches for their kids, free day care for the ones who are not in school and my sister in law also received wick (they are in NY State). HOW can they receive so much money and yet get these free things from the gov't? I would be so ashamed. They have been remodeling their house (they own several properties) and they each get a new vehicle every two years, he having a fancy pickup and she always a vehicle with leather interior (for a farm???). I asked her one day how they could do this and she said they take a loss on the farm. It sickens me. Please do not post my email.

Thank heven for the oil companies that allow the farmers to farm . You can,t grow much without oil.EXXON feeds 50 million people and you.

I don't understand why people get farm subsidies when it is not their principal source of income for instance teh Doctor in my hometown. Ebers, and the Ken Lay Estate

So, lemme see. If cotton is $.50/lb but it should be $1.97/lb then the Chinese are receiving a $1.47/lb subsidy from the US taxpayer on the cotton they make into $20 jeans. Cool. So the people still pay the extra money on the cotton, even when the cotton doesn't return to the US as goods.

Now THIS is how you grow cotton and keep the prices down:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=9904973

Hey,
My brother inlaw is a well subsidised farmer In Iowa. He is a very hard & smart worker, great father, husband, friend and citizen. When I look at his lifestyle I see strong evidence of the all the afore mentiond qualities. If these subsidies were available to each of us we would all file the papers take what was offered and after paying our bills and operating costs, try and have enough left over to buy ourselves a new pick up. His only shortcoming is that he hasn't offered to loan me any $$'s yet, I know he will someday, he is a good man. I say God Bless him...MMmm...HE has already, and I know for a fact that he and his family are deeply appreciative and grateful. L. Smith

Having looked at this website and the farm subsidies being paid for the first time, I want to say thank you.
I grew up on a farm and am grateful for that background. However, itseems that if the government wanted to promote the family farm it would limit the payments to $10,000 per farmer. This would not give huge winfalls to those with huge land and machinery assets. I wonder why a program exists that gives hundreds of thousands of dollars to those who are millionaires?

I am amazed at some of your responses. You act like the subsidies are the icing on the cake. Get a grip folks. I farm 100 acres and I received $1900.00 in subsidies for 2006. My crops yields were below average for our farm and even after receiving the subsidies the operation still lost over $20,000.00. Fuel cost was up, labor cost was up, fertilizer cost was up, and crop prices were down. None of these variables were in my sphere of influence. This year we have the worst drought our state has ever experienced. I shudder to think what the loss will be for 2007. Our state is 800,000 large bales of hay short of what we need to feed our livestock. Many farmers will not survive this year. We are being advised to sell our herds, since buying hay from out of state is not economically feasible.

If I were tending 5000 acres of the same crop mix that I presently farm, then I would be at the $100,000 + mark in subsidies. I would also have $2,000,000 invested in crop expense before harvest arrives and at least that much in equipment investment to make it happen. Then I’d have to wait to see if God sends the right amount of rain and if it arrives when we need it. A lot can happen from April through October. 2007 crop expenses for corn are about $400 per acre. If you were smart enough to find this web site then you are smart enough to look up current market prices at the grain elevators (Not CBOT Prices). Do the math and see what the profit margin is with average yields. Then think about the farmers that did not make average yields this year. The news is filled with horror stories of drought in one area and floods in others and the areas with horror stories will be in another geographic area next year affecting a different group of farmers. You show me 500 acres above 200 B/a and I’ll show you 500 acres below 50 B/a. Insuring a crop does not equal profit. In fact, insurance payout seldom allows recovery of crop expenses with a major event.

I would suggest that before you respond so negatively that you take the time to see the whole picture. I think that when you do, you will be embarrassed over your statements. Occasionally we farmers get favorable weather and crops produce really well. If prices are good then we stand a fair chance of making a profit. Introduce anyone of the variables that can negatively impact our yields and profits can disappear. In the years of no profit, the subsidy maybe the only thing that allows us to survive. By the way, a farmer does not set the price on what he grows. We have to take what the markets will pay.

As for the “Nay Sayers” on pickup trucks. I have a nice pickup and it has 175,000 miles on it. I have a friend that tends 2000 acres and has a new pickup. In the course of running this large of an operation he already has 75,000 miles on it. They do not last long in the harsh environment they live in. A little different than most of you that drive yours down your paved driveway and interstate to a paved parking lot where you work 8 hours and then return home.

I dare say that few of you would be passionate enough over what you do for a living to invest $4,000,000.00, work 60 hour plus weeks, with the same level of risk that exist in agriculture, in the hope that you don’t lose every thing that you own. I suspect that most of you would retreat to your favorite spot to enjoy the creature comforts that $4,000,000.00 could provide.

On the subject of system abuses. If you know of someone abusing the system, report it. There are always some people that are looking for the easy way out. Just be sure you know what you are talking about before you jump.

I thank God that that we have enough well informed decision/policy makers that have the insight and fortitude to help the American Farmer, assuring that you the consumer, continue to be able to buy quality and affordable food products. If subsidies ever disappear, then I hope God is more merciful to you when you stomachs are empty than you are toward the American farmer that presently feeds you.

I pray that the next time you see a farmer, that you see him in a different light.

Farmer Jim

If farming is so unprofitable for Americans that they need billions of dollars year after year to even FEED THEMSELVES... then why do they farm? Why not use that money to get an education in a sector that is profitable? leave the farming to poor Africans who are dying to sell us their agricultural goods and don't have as many opportunities to enter other sectors.

Farmer Jim,

While you make alot of good points, I am sure you do not speak for all farmers. I posted earlier about my brother in law living high off the hog while he collects payments. He does not put in the many many hours that many farmers do. He has 5 illegals working for him doing the work. They provided social security numbers and my sister in law told me she doesn't care where they got them, that is what she puts into the system. Apparently the county knows it has illegals because it sends out people to teach the illegals throughout the county English. If there is no money for the farm how is he buying properties left and right? How did he build a brand new freestall barn? Two new vehicles with leather interior every two years. Are you telling me leather interior is needed on the farm? They are remodeling their home (one of them). They are talking of buying a plasma tv (they may have already) and puting in a pool. All of this sounds like a farmer who isn't making money right? I just started my own business. I guess I can expect help from the gov't in times when business is not good for me? I think not. I am not saying the payments shouldn't be out there, but it sure looks like alot of piss-poor management to me.

Bethany and Lisa,

Let me begin by apologizing for the length of this response. I do not know how to abbreviate the response on such a complex subject.

Thank you for your input and I believe that I understand your concerns. Bethany, at the insistence of my father, I chose to do something else for a living but have returned to my passion in agriculture managing the family farming operation. I am not “poor mouthing”, just trying to present a different prospective so that we understand each others world a little better.

As to depending of foreign sources for food, I believe that there are some lessons to be learned from our energy situation that can be applied to agriculture. When we go to the filling station, our dependence on foreign oil is in our face every time we fill up. OPEC can cut production and there is an immediate price increase in the pump price and following right along, price increases in everything else that is petroleum based, including transportation of non petroleum products. Some will take longer than others to show up, but it ultimately does have an impact. If we were to apply the same thinking and allow the USA to become dependent on foreign food, I fear that a similar trend could develop. Food safety becomes an ever increasing concern when we as a country, lose control over the production and processing of this proponent element of our survival.
Bethany, the following is a publication that speaks to the subject that you bring to the table. I do not know how this compares to Africa but it may shed some light on the subject for you. I am afraid that I am not knowledgeable enough on the subject to bring much to the table but this was an interesting article.
The Impact of Farm Subsidies - Bringing Some Balance to the North-South Debate by Eliseo Ponce and Ben Bradshaw http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2003/issue3/0303p68.asp
Lisa, I hear you loud and clear. In the early 80’s several farmers in our area prospered and spent money like there was no end to it’s supply. By the mid 80’s some of these same farmers were bankrupted, some losing their farms and having to figure out a new way to provide for their families. Failures were not always due to the above circumstances, as the mid 80’s were extremely difficult years for agriculture nationwide and many of the best farm managers did not survive. I hope that your brother in laws apparent success is due to outstanding management skills and that he has prepared for possible changes in his fortune. The risks in agriculture are greater than any industry that I know of.

More on subsidies - The thought process, however flawed it may be, is that, subsidies keep enough farmers in business to ensure a perpetual surplus and results in low farm commodity prices. This assures that we the consumer, will continue to be able to purchase quality low priced food products and they supposedly assure our competitiveness in a global market.

Americans, according to latest figures, spend about 14% of their disposable income on food. Some countries, particularly poorer counties spend 80% of their disposal income on food. Obviously there is a middle ground, but by and large, we as Americans spend the least. These farm products, produced here in the USA are incidentally, grown under strict guide lines as to chemical and fertilizer application as well as storage and distribution. I am not familiar enough with the guide lines or enforcement in other countries to be critical but knowing what requirements American farmers are mandated to follow, provides me with a comfort level that our products will not have a wholesale negative impact on our society.

The other point referenced above, is that we as Americans can remain competitive in a world market, since most other civilized nations also subsidize the agricultural community. Some country’s farm subsidies, are based on input cost while others are based on other factors such as acres or yields. Some countries actually support the agricultural sector to a greater extent than we do. Removing subsidies in America could place American agriculture at a distinct disadvantage in a world market. As for my part I would prefer to have prices established to eliminate the need for farm subsidies. This does not seem to be a viable approach as the American Farmer has little if any control over the market prices. Additionally, it would have to be a global emphasis since as I mentioned above, the USA is not the only nation that subsidizes it’s agriculture. In our area, the subsidy for corn is around $0.10 per bushel or about $20.00 per acre. If we were to remove subsidies and if this loss was ultimately reflected in the price were are asking for corn in a global market place, the pending purchase referenced in today’s daily update at the CBOT of South Korea to buy 55,000 tons of corn, would reflect $200,000 more that they would have to pay, in order to close the deal. They would quite naturally purchase from someone else. Wouldn’t you? Notice I used the word IF in the illustration.

Some of you believe that supply and demand should be the rule. What should we do? Should we stop or significantly reduce production until prices reach our expectation then plant? Not a reasonable approach since nature can deal you a cruel blow in the year that you expect to maximize profits. Then comes the big question, what do we survive on in the periods where reduced production is occurring? Farming is not a business where the farmer can significantly manipulate the market place. Most factories can ramp production up or down in a few weeks. It takes a year for agriculture to respond to demand. In the meanwhile, other countries that did not share or buy into our vision are cleaning our clocks.

Truth of the matter is, the subjects we are attempting to discuss are much more complex than most of us have to time to learn or understand. We truly live in a flat world and every thing that we do or don’t do in agriculture has a potential impact on the world food supply. The Biblical story of Joseph and his management of food stores to sustain life in difficult times is not so far fetched that it could not happen again. Personally, I prefer a surplus. As a society, in our self professed infinite wisdom, we still can not foretell the future. If we chose to make significant changes in how we manage our agricultural industry, it certainly requires each of us learning, thinking, sharing and ultimately providing our best input to the equation. Every one of us has a stake in the process.

Farmer Jim

Len Smith, of all the posts on this site, yours is the only brilliant comment that offers a solution instead of a bickering complaint.

You are correct, Farm Subsidies are in place for a reason, but we as a country have forgotten the real purpose for them. Farm Subsidies are in place to help keep the American family farmer in business through tough times...NOT to make large corporate farms richer by taking a loss on thousands upon thousands of acres of land.

Limiting the total payout PER FARMER...not PER ENTITY is a logical solution to keep farmers from abusing the system AND it brings us back to the good ol' days of small family farms where next-door neighbors weren't at each other's throats competing for sky-high priced farmground.

It is the subsidies that are keeping the farmer poor. They always lead to overproduction. When there is over production then they really don't need your product so they can squeeze you as hard as they like and you can't pool resources with your neighbors who live in arias that have different weather conditions to average your profits and losses. Your margin is too thin.
----Food subsidies are also killing your customers. Those omega 6 oils from soybean subsidies are making them fat. Soybeans have worked their way into way to many foods. I think that we also over consume other products in our diet as food additives that have been subsidized.

This is to all of you people that just look at numbers and start pointing fingers. How many hours a week do you work? Lets just say 40 the average for a working American, and what do you do at work? Maby sit at a desk in a climate controlled facility or press buttons on a computer. Well here is my point i am a son of a farmer and my dad works his ass of every day every week for his money in the hot sun. What do you do? Maby if you want to make as much as a farmer does (Witch looks like a lot but really isn’t due to the extremely high cost of farming) maybe you should go take a loan buy some land and like most farmers hope like hell that you make enough money to cover you farm expenses and then if there is any left save up for the next’s years expenses. I know for a fact that 90% of the people against the farm bill have no idea what is actually happing. Yes some farmers may receive too much due to ways that I am not aware of, but the average farmer receives $40,000- $85,000 in subsidies, if they are lucky. Yes $85,000 is a lot of money but have you ever looked at the price of farming.
For example a new JD tractor is approximately $160,000.(Used ones are not much cheeper) Do you have to invest a $100,000 in to your job, just to make it work? What about fuel? You think that farmers are not feeling the High fuel prices. What about irrigation cost? Again do you have to pay 650 dollars per acre (1 section of land equals 640ac) and that doesn’t include power cost. Also the cost of land ranges from $250per acre to $1200per acre. I read someone say something about pickups, the pickups we use are no more than $10,000 AND WE USE THEM IN OUR JOB. There is another 20 to 30 thousand dollars worth of cost, (You have to have more than one for different farms, work hands ect.)Farming is a gamble, no job security unlike most other jobs. But the govt. knows this and backs it farming citizens with the farm bill. If the farm bill goes away there will be a lot more people under the poverty level. My point is that the numbers look big that the govt. is contributing but if this site showed what the average farmers had to spend, i think that you would be very surprised.

I farm in eastern south carolina. i farm about 550 acers of grain and produce. I dont work insurance programs or play the federal funding programs and feel like those who do should be punished and pay every damn bit back cuz its just like stealing. All it is is the corperations are getting bigger and the small farmer getting smaller. I know someone is going to say " well i cant grow .50 cent cotton. well damn, all your doing is hiding it somewhere and collecting money as a disaster, so dont tell me the bigger aint getting bigger. I think that it is a bunch of crap.

I am new to this site and what an eye opener. I grew up in California on a peach farm and understand the need to subsidize the farmers in the event of a poor harvest. But now I live in the mountains of Colorado and still I see the husband and wife who live down the street from me (and it is no farm only thier vacation home) recieve 32k a year at this address. What could be the reason? Kevin

KEVIN: as long as they have an ownership or business interest in subsidized land, they can live anywhere. You can see where the actual farm is by looking at details of the payments when you click on a subsidy beneficiary's name in the dbase. COOK

Having read most of the comments to this point, I want to add one of my own.

I know many farmers, big and small, I do not know any poor farmers. I know some who live in FHA sponsored homes. These homes are far more luxurious than mine and they are often graced with a swimming pool. I don't know any that report to work as directed each and every work day for an average of 220+ days each year. Etc, Etc,ad Infinitum. Most of them have sent their children to college (some on Poverty type grants) and some I guess on their subsidy money? any way they have every appearance of being prosperous, of being happy and not worried about paying the bills. Also I not that many of those children share in this poor lifestyle their farmer parents would have us believe is a terrible burden. My conclusion is simple. The farmers are either among the most efficient liars I know, or they are among the most stupid of all people I know. Why else would they continue in this loss year after year while piling up debt upon debt?? Get real.

Friends, I began farming to add to my income as a musician in the 1970's, but by 1986, agriculture had become my main means of support. Believe me, the saga and diatribe against subsidy that follows is the highly abridged version.

I got back into the music biz in 1987 in a small way, but the farm still supplied probably 90% of our livelihood until about 2002, when due to a family member's physical disability we had to start concentrating somewhat more on off-farm activities.

During all this time we never received even one thin dime of farm subsidies--local, state nor federal, and all our buyers still tell us they wish we had more to sell them.

High quality farm products are always in demand, but the modern "auction" system of distribution doesn't allow them to reach the high payers. The auction system was practically unknown in the U.S. until the 1930's. That's right; it took until the 1950's for mass-market farm product selling to become the dominant way.

I remember when we moved from our first farm's location to one that was far more isolated in a neighboring state. A friend warned me that hthe trouble with farming is "when you have a good year, so does everyone else, and supply goes up while prices go down. When you have a bad year, others do too, but the high price drives urban and suburban consumers to buy elsewhere, and they get used to that."

He was right. Smug non-ruralites then make things worse by coming up with endless phantom "crises" and ham-fisted regulatory "solutions" to them.

Subsidies don't help either of these situations.

Over the 3+ decades that I have been farming (mostly livestock, but some market gardening too) I have seen 2 types of farmers and ranchers:

The first type is always gung-ho for the latest hand-out from the government, saying to himself "I pay my taxes and it's only right that I should get back some, instead of the welfare cheats, nepotists, and graft-grifters."

The problem with this argument is that taxes are allocated in arrears of spending. That is, tax rates are set by the deficits of the previous year. Getting largesse today makes everyone's taxes go up tomorrow, forcing citizens to buy commodities they don't even use. It is like the infamous "gabelle" of 18th-Century France, in which all citizens had to buy a govt.-stipulated amount of salt, regardless of whether they ever used that much.

The second type of "subsidy champ" has a conscience he's wrestling with. So he comes up with all kinds of excuses about how subsidies help lower the cost of food for everyone, when in reality they mainly tip the playing field in favor of the economies of scale over the economies of proximity and of food safety.

When the leftist party in New Zealand won control of that country's government many years back, they immediately start cutting ag subsidies to the bare bones (farm lobbies tend to be enemies of the left, and vice versa). Like the leftist party in the U.S., they added to the regulatory burdens their own farmers had to bear, while turning a blind eye to grotesque, inhumane and squalid food production and transport methods used by foreigners. Even though their own ag sector was at an extreme disadvantage, yet today their farms are expanding so much that farmers have run out of land, and are building "satellite" farms in Uruguay, Chile and other places.

At first there were dire predictions that N.Z. would become islands of starving idealists. That didn't happen--agriculture finally got fit, feisty and ready for action. Today, they have the Euro-Union livestock markets pretty much sewn-up as an export destination for their lamb and beef, and are driving European livestock people out of business with Kiwi competition.

The European livestock growers are now constantly whining that their subsidies must be raised so they can compete (even though those subsidies are even higher than ours).

I'm probably the last person to agree with "lefties" on almost everything they constantly do to place individual liberties into "group-sector privileges" and take away personal responsibilities.

But the Kiwi-left's nasty politics of tit-for-tat against their arch-target/nemesis (the farm sector), though intended to punish them for not toeing the party line, ended up strengthening agriculture.

Farm products are a lot like the music business, really. Both are like a pot of milk. Treat that milk with cold indifference, and it stays sweet, the cream rising to the top. Nurture it warmly, and it soon sours, the scum rising to the top. When you make "National Endowments" for arts or for farms, lots of scum rises to the top instead of the cream, the only exceptions being those who would have risen to the top without help--but they're very few.

The sad thing is that there is now a lot of distrust and even hatred focused on farming in general. Even 20 years ago I met a woman at an outdoor show in Annapolis, MD who insisted I must be taking subsidies if I'm farming at all, because "everyone knows" farmers and subsidies are inextricably linked. I never convinced her of my complete innocence of subsidy (I've never even applied for the ones friends say I qualify for).

I know if I can do it, anyone else could if they weren't so selfish about it. They want to do the part of agriculture they love (farming & ranching) to the exclusion of the part of it they hate (finding buyers willing to pay for better value).

The latter is a hard job, requiring much more brain power than the already mind-taxing work of getting a decent yield from the land.

BTW, I never had a new truck either, but in 20+ years I never had to eat a hormone-laden steak or chop, worked with and protected the animals that supplied my living, got modest gains (survived several big losses too), fixed my own dilemmas, stomped my own snakes, and any complaints I spewed forth had to be done in front of the mirror, where the only culprit and the only sympathetic audience was.

One more thing, the record shows govt. interference in farming made things worse for all Americans (yes even under FDR), not better. Though some would lose out--especially the brash, the selfish, the over-confident and the ignorant--agriculture without subsidies would prosper again.

Shepherd Boy

REMEBER BEFORE YOU BASH THEM, FARMING IS EVERYONES BREAD AND BUTTER. WHEN YOU WORK YOUR ASS OFF 20 HOURS A DAY SEVEN DAYS A WEEK YOU CAN BITCH ALL YOU WANT. DONT SIT HERE AND COMPLAIN THAT OVER HALF OF THE FARM SUBSIDIES GO TO NEW FARM TRUCKS AND ALL THAT BS

the problem i have with goverment payments is in our area rents and land are way beyond the reach of small independent farmers its basiclly go goverment or get out the little guy can't compete

Sounds like most people make their decisions on what they can see (new machinery, nice homes, vehichles and subsidy payments) but you can't see the forest for the tree's. If it is such a money making career you'd think there would be more doing it. Truth is there are fewer and fewer farmers each year and the average age is probably 55 to 60. I do farm but not very many acres. I found it easier to make a living in businesses outside of agriculture. Just remember the old saying "Don't Cuss The Farmer With Your Mouthfull!" For every dollar you see in subsidy payments that farmer probably has 5 to 10 times that invested, and it is something they didn't make in a year or a lifetime, most are 3rd, 4th and 5th generation farmers and it took 100yrs or better for them to have what they have and they know they could lose it all in a matter of years.

anonymous

I sure get mad when I find out a couple of farmers in Jackson County that got over a half million dollars in subsidy's are buying lake lots on the north shore of Spirit Lake Iowa at $5,000.00 a square foot. One even has enough money to buy the lot next to his cabin. Sure wish I could get handouts that I could invest in Lake Property too! And the tax payers are paying for it!!! This is as big a rip off as our vice president and the Haliburton Corp. The U.S. blows up Iraq and then spends billions rebuilding Iraq!!!

I have been trying to show the public since the 60,s that these welfare farmers were getting a free ride! I have never taken a dime from the tax payers and am damn proud of it!
Next time you people see a new house, P.U, car or machinery in their yards. Thank Yourselves!!!

Thing is, there aren't subsidies of this kind for any other industry. It isn't fair, and it isn't right.

Where I am here in Wisconsin, all of the small farms have been eaten up by the big, corporate ones, which receive HUGE subsidies each year. I grew up on a farm, and there used to be small dairy farms everywhere. They don't exist, anymore.

How hard farmers work is irrelevant. If we just allowed the market to work, it would work. Instead, the government gets involved and screws everything up.

I don't see an "insurance plan" like this for any other industry... Why farming? Every business owner takes a risk when they go into business, and continue to take risks every day that they are in business. This doesn't mean that the taxpayers should be the stop-loss because farming is an endeared, all-American profession.

I have respect for farming, because I was a farm girl. However, when my father's farm machinery dealership went down the tubes due to the downturn in the 80's, HE didn't get bailed out by the government. Why should anyone else?

I am a small farmer (160 acres) in Northeastern Nebraska. Allthough I received some money from the government, I am definitely in the bottom 10% in my county. The top recipient in my county received 50 times what I got.

When I go to the farm program office these days for the sign up, one of the things I have noticed it is not farmers themselves coming into the office. You see alot of lawyer types and accountant types--you can tell because of their suits and the briefcases they are carrying.

Let me tell you what really gets my goat about some of these big recipients around here. Like other commentators on this site have pointed out, they live really high. But worse is their hypocrisy. You ought to hear them bitch and rant about people on welfare--the kids that get free lunches in school and the older people around here who are on Medicaid. Nevermind the "welfare" that they are getting. These people are dumb and don't know much about the world, but yet they can be really smart and clever whenever it comes to "money".

Well I have read all the comments about subsidy's, well one thing that has been left out of the conversation is the fact that farmers take out crop insurance on their crops, that the government pays 60% of the premium for them then they fail to farm in a workman like manner and then turn around and collect the insurance, collect the disaster payment, and laugh all the way to the bank.

Wow...lots of differing opinions, many very plausible. However, isn't the real subject that we all want to do our life work and make a good living doing it? Farmers and everyone else deserve that, but the government taking our tax money and giving a fraction of it to people who are at the mercy of weather conditions is not the answer. No one has a guaranteed income, not just the farmer! Neither is buying the $10 jeans at WalMart. Neither is complaining about it!
Instead, let's solve the problem. Let's scrap the whole system, and if we're going to subsidize anything, let's subsidize the small, organic, sustainable farms and other businesses! Small, strong communities that were accountable for their actions were what this country was founded on. New trucks and cheap jeans are not the issue. Living a good life, doing what you love, having the things you need...that's what we all want.
Another thing..what are you guys calling "quality food or products?" Chemically-laden crops, mineral deficient soil, animals raised in extremely cruel conditions...and we go to the store and buy the cheap stuff made this way, and wonder why our kids are on Ritalin, we are getting cancer at age 30, and we are all so stressed, tired and unhappy???
Let's wake up and solve the root problems! Everyone must start living in a responsible way! You CAN afford to grow and buy food organically and locally if you aren't buying your kids the fast food, video games,....if you aren't getting the quickie microwave meals, the brand name clothes (made in China by slave labor...is this really what you want to support? Do you really want to support torturing animals so you can get cheaper meat??)We are choking down coffee to jack up a poor, stressed, tired body so you can get to work and breathe more chemicals, get degraded by your boss...this is a crazy, vicious cycle that must be broken!
You get the idea. Let's TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR OWN LIVES and work to change the system by example. The reason the super-rich are running our lives is because we have let them! We have been so busy trying to satisfy our egos' needs we haven't noticed that every law being passed is about the people giving more to a government structure that is feeding itself, not us! They throw us a bone once in a while, like subsidies and welfare, but most of it goes right in the pockets of the big money families.
Ok, enough. Solution: think about everything you do. "WE MUST BE THE CHANGE WE WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD" (Ghandi). Wear and use recycled products...grow a garden when you can, go to local farmers markets when you can't. Buy the more expensive organic food, locally produced clothing, it WILL come back to you! Support farms transitioning to organic. Buy only meat and dairy that is raised without junk, not crammed in barns but roaming in a field. Yes, it's more expensive, but it has to start here. I will buy my kids' clothes at Goodwill if I have to, to be sure their bellies have food, not chemicals, in them.Use natural cleaning products. Home school your kids when you can, and get involved with what's going on in schools when you can't. Don't waste. Reuse everything possible. Minimize the use of plastics and other things that produce environmental pollution...like cars, and hairsprays, and room "fresheners" and fabric softeners, and bug sprays! Did you know that kids who eat conventionally grown food have NINE TIMES the pesticides in their uring that kids who eat organic? How much is your kid's life worth to you?? It DOES matter, even if one of us does it. Or if all of us do just one of these things.
Can you imagine what an awesome place this world would be to live in, if everyone lived every moment of their lives doing what they truly felt was the right thing, and what made them feel joyful???? Wow. It's never too late to live right, love life, and take care of our world.
Peace.

Did you all forget?? You eat the cheapest best food in the world!!!

Free money to the farmers is called "subsidies" and they're to be considered hero's. Free money to hard pressed, out of work, or layed-off americans is called "welfare" and they're to be considered dead-beats. It's all WELFARE people!!
Cheapest food in the world? I don't think so. Go to a grocery store and PAY for your pork and beef for a change. New pick-up's? That's minor to a farmer. A new truck here and there was the talk years ago. Now it's several new tractors, a few hundred more acres, new houses, tax-free toys, supplies for the house and shop, and the list goes on.... Like any other job, if you can't make it, get a different job. What other occupation does the gov. support. Why is everything a farmer buys tax-free? I know farmers that buy household products, soft-drinks, personal fuel, LP gas for their home, any and all fix-up supplies for the home and farm that are ALL bought as FARM USE supplies and tax-free!! I really think if this web-site went public and every hard working, tax paying american found out about this unbelieveably corrupt system our government is running, there would be an up-rising in America. People ask, "Why don't they see this and get it changed?" It's so simple. The people that make the laws benefit huge from this Farm Bill. Why would they shoot themselves in the foot? If it changes, they don't make their millions. Corrupt Politics!!! I can't stand listening to these piss-n-moan farmers complain about how "they just can't make it farming." If you can't make it, quit buying new equipment, vehicles, land, toys, atv's, ......
Wake up farmers, we luckily have EWG and we now know "how bad farming really is"!!!
I do feel bad for some of the really small farmers that really do try to do the right thing and not cheat the system. I wish I could buy all my food directly from them.
For the rest... Let Your Conscience be Your Guide!!

Why not eliminate all farm subsidies? If you can not make any money farming, sell your ground and go and get a 9 to 5 job like the rest of us working stiffs- I don't see any farmers doing that option!!!! This money could be used for children in poverty in this country.It's like I tell everybody--keep working-millions of farmers are depending on your hard earned tax dollars so they can enjoy their "free" welfare handouts.Farming is the only job where you can work 2 weeks a year (1 week planting/ 1 week harvesting) and draw your free agriwelfare checks from the USDA. It must be nice to drive new trucks, go to the coffee shops, go to auctions and farm shows,go every county fair to show your farm animals and finally spend money like its water--- all the farmers in my area described to perfection!!!!!

Write your congressmen and let's eliminate the subsidies. Let's further open the door to welcoming Corporate America to controlling the ag industry. Let's get 10-20 corporations controlling the market. Corporations may want to make a little money in this venture and your children will appreciate the long-term impact to food costs. Ultimately, instead of wasting your time on this site primarily being nosy about your neighbors, spend the 20 minutes educating yourself on why we have subsidies and how other countries handle this. Spend some time understanding the cost of farm equipment, fertilizer, fuel, the price trends for farm products in the past 60 years, etc. Let's get educated and have a real debate. My neighbor had a swimming pool and a new pickup too. They work in town and live check by check. Who is going to pay for their wasteful spending when they go bankrupt? What about when they default on their $40k in credit card debt? How about the subprime loan they should have been smart enough not to take? Who is paying for that? At least the American farmer gives you something back for the little bit of the ridiculous government budget that is given back to them. Visit usspending.gov for an eye opener.

By the way, I don't farm, but in today's economy, I appreciate the fact that food costs as little as it does. Thank you farmers!

Ok, so subsidies keep prices low - but where does subsidy money come from? The taxes I pay, right? So actually, I AM paying extra for cloth, food, etc., it is just coming out of my taxes rather than at the store. The government doesn't MAKE any money - it only spends it.

This is my first trip to this sight and I find it very interesting that all of the hard core conservative rural farmers I know who rip on putting taxes into education and urban infrastructure are getting boatloads of tax money to stay in business. Is it really a smart decision to choose a professional field that you can't make a profit in without a handout.

Also, let's get serious, the world isn't just white collar desk workers and 80 hr a week farmers, the bulk lie in between. Farmers love to complain about bad luck. Hey that's the nature of the game in farming. I don't have a major problem with farm subsidies, what I do have a problem with is the farmers who rip all other government assistance except the subsidies that neatly fit into their lifestyle. There are a lot of cases where the gov't needs to help for the greater good outside of farming as well. In all of those scenarios there will always be bad apples who will abuse it whether it's food stamps for cigarettes or subsidies for lake homes. The bottom line is if you think that subsidies are needed and outsiders just don't understand, you should figure that also applies to areas you don't know the inside details about that also get gov't money.

I own my own business. I have to invest and borrow money just like farmers. However if things go bad for me, I'm out of luck. No check gets sent in the mail saying hope you have better luck next year, try again on us "The united States Government" Also if its such hard work and you still aren't making money, get the hell out of it!!!!! Or are all of you gluttons for punishment???? If so, shut up!!

"The cheapest and best food in the world"? We were in China and in the market we could buy pork tenderloin for less than USD1 per pound. Carrots were about 20 cents a pound, all greens, including broccoli, even less. It was some of the best and freshest we have ever eaten. Most everything was grown organically.

I am not saying China has everything right, or even most things right...but the farmers (over 80% of the population) didn't get subsidies beyond anyone else and they were paid direct by the consumer. They haggle there in the market and sometimes we would too. We never haggled over vegetables because we couldn't understand how they could ever live on what they were asking.

Actually, we have seen pretty much the same thing in many areas of the world...small farmers working and selling their product for really very little and living not extravagantly, but for the most part not uncomfortably, compared to their neighbours either. Good food;good quality. No, not one had a pick-up. In fact none even had their own car!but in most cases they couldn't have used one anyway. Point is we don't have the best, just different, and different can be both good and bad. We can learn a thing or two yet, and not just stand by and complain or sit by and praise ourselves.

I am thankful for our farmers even if sometimes I don't agree with them. Sure some take advantage and some do some silly things, but who doesn't? It used to be we would all say "God bless the American Farmer", and I think He did. That was back when more of our families were in farming or at least living in farmland. Now we don't hear people blessing the farmer like we used too. Maybe because that would be admitting that God exists and is in the business of blessing folks. Well, all I can say is if we're not all asking God to bless the hands that feed us then maybe we should be blessing them more ourselves. That doesn't necessarily mean subsidies. Give praise where praise is due, and pay the worker his wages.

I live on a farm, own thousands of acres of farm land, and have a degree in agronomy, but I don't farm. Instead I run a construction company that receives no subsidies of any kind, and pay taxes through the nose so the government can dish out more farm welfare. I have to laugh at the farmer comments from Texas who says he deserves his boat and fancy pickup because he works 80 hrs a week. What a joke, maybe 80 hrs a week for 3 weeks planting and 3 weeks harvesting. I see it everyday, the rest of the year its deer hunting, fishing, cruises, sitting around the store gripping about how hard you work. Your lazy butt wouldn't make it a week at my company where we do work 55-70 hours every week of the year, and where we pay our workers overtime for everything over 40 hrs. You see we have to work harder to make ends meet so that we can pay the taxes both corporately and personally so they can send you your welfare check. I just finished writing both of my Senators and my Congressman to raise heck about this joke of a Farm Bill and I urge everyone to do the same. If you can't make it on today's commodity prices without the welfare, go get a damn job like the rest of us.

My first job after graduating from vet school was to work in a mixed practice in Earlville, IL. The owner and the #2 vet both farmed on the side, but I was just a veteriarian.
I graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 1980. When I hired on at the practice we were processing two or three loads of cattle and one or two loads of pigs a week. Then in 1981 there was a big crunch in agriculture and the farmers stopped losing money on livestock and invested in cash crops instead. We were hurting, and my boss said that the practice couldn't support a third vet anymore. I then became a small animal vet and moved away.
I know hard work myself, having been an Illinois-licensed horseshoer for nine years. It helped pay my way through vet school, along with the GI Bill and health profession loans. I also know how hard most small farmers work, and how they enjoy the lives they lead. It gave me a lot of satisfaction visiting their farms and helping them with their livestock. They appreciated what I did for them, and I appreciated their way of life and the fact that they were part of American agriculture, which outproduces everyone else on earth.
I have seen the rise of the megafarm and corporate farm industry. I don't like it, and I don't like their products. I much prefer free-range chicken to Tyson, and Salmonella and E-coli free meat. I pay more for better quality, and I believe most Americans will, too. When Jack-In-The-Box's burgers killed a few people, the investigation showed that the meat was contaminated with bacteria. The industry solution was not to clean up the meat-packing industry, but to simply increase the cooking time to destroy the bacteria in your hamburger. Thanks! Do you want E-coli with that?
I'm an independent candidate for president this year and my platform can be read if you Google my name. I'm inclined to believe that stopping all farm subsidies will benefit small farmers and all agriculture in the long run. (I can't believe that we've continued to subsidize tobacco.)
I would like to see small farms and small livestock producers return to the American landscape. Small farms and small businesses are the foundation of our economy. I don't know how this will happen with the cost of good farm land today, however. I just don't want to see any more small farms bought up by the big boys. I'd like to crack down on the inspection and processing control, increase meat testing and overall improve the quality of the products we produce. When Europe orders a shipment of beef from us, the meat-packing plant slows down the line to reduce contamination. Europe has tougher standards and won't put up with E-coli.
I'm also a public health officer in the Air Force Reserve and know that the foods we are importing from other countries, i.e., China, are much more potentially dangerous to consumers than even that from our own factory farms. A classmate from vet school has a senior position in our Public Health Service, and she said that we only inspect 0.6 percent of the food that we import. Not 6 percent - actually less than 1 percent! Beware what you buy in the grocery store.
In closing, I want to thank the American farmer for long hours, hard work, constant risk, and sticking with in through thick and thin. Please don't quit. You are, indeed, the salt of the earth.

Ahh yes, the American farmer....This country's #1 welfare recipient!!! Get a real job if you can't make it. I love how you lazy farmers get every nut and bolt tax free on top of your welfare payments. Funny how the government doesn't help a truck driver when fuel prices get too high, and I'm talking about a real truck driver, not a hillbilly hauling corn that doesn't know how to drive. But when seed or fertilizer prices go up the gov. just can't give my tax dollars to the farmer fast enough. Its time for all of us to stand up and vote, contact representatives, and we the real citizens take control of our country and put an end to this crap!!!

I live in Nebraska, specifically the Third Congressional District, the 5th most Republican conservative in the country. People are very conservative and anti-federal government, anti-federal spending, etc. Tough, rugged individuals they call themselves and yet they are the Number 1 or 2 in the nation for farm subsidies. Isn't that that one of the most incredible examples of hypocrisy one could ever witness?

The plain and simple fact is most farmers don't want to be associated with the stereotypical welfare recipient. I have news for you, farmers ARE the stereotypical welfare recipient.

Its all unaccounted money, lets be honest. Do you really put it back into your business or do you buy your toys, go on vacation etc... just be honest. We all struggle, why dont we all get welfare hmmm?

How is it that Norman Grant received subsidies when he never farmed? Reminds me of the 50's & 60's scandals that I have read about

As a Young Farmer (22) and crop insurance adjuster I would have to say that there are many abuses of the current system. But The good far outweighs the bad. Few farmers will take advantage of the system, but just the few give all the rest a terrible name. It's April 9th all the commodity prices look great and we don't really need payments right now but what happens next year when prices fall and inputs are still through the roof??? So there needs to be a system in place as a net for bad times. One thing Ive noticed after reading many of these comments is that most of you DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT! Farm Payments are not based on income they are based on peticular tracts of land and what the crop yielded in years past and not what it actually yielded in the payment year. Another thing is that The Farm Bill is 65% food stamps and WIC. The other 35% is split up between conservation programs and subsidies. Being 22 and farming 1200 acres is a pretty big deal for me and I don't just work 2 weeks in the spring and 2 weeks in the fall as someone else posted earlier. I work all day everyday if the weather permits. After that there is still book work, marketing, ect. So if your a farmer that has a decent amount of acreage you probably work a good 75-80 hours a week. Most farmers are not crooks we just like to make money doining what we love!

it's interesting that the cotton farmer comments that we would throw a fit if we had to pay more for a cotton shirt made with his cotton. the difference is that we are paying for it. . .with our hard-earned tax dollars! if we eliminated the $12 billion in taxes that go to subsidies whether the farmer is working or not, we would all have MORE disposable income to spend more for a cotton shirt and the money would go to a farmer that is actually earning the money by farming good cotton. we ARE paying more for the cotton, we're just paying the government for it in taxes that go to the farmers, rather than paying the farmers for the work they are actually doing and the crop they are producing. . .
unfortunately, there are way to many clueless people who have no idea what their taxes are paying for.

My Dad has enjoyed farm subsidies all his life and sheltered income in his "corporation" status. He also had an accountant-attorney who was adept at finding fake business expenses: The enormous
recreational vehicle was written off as a business expense: They justified it by saying that it could be used for sleeping quarters when they were deep in planting and harvesting seasons. Sad.
We need senators and congress reps who will stop the inefficiencies created by subsidies and allow the world market to be a fair and equitable place for global business. It is Economics 101.

Folks: 12 billion a year in subsidies is NOTHING. Farming is back breaking work, and the majority make about 60k a year, when things go well.

We, the USA, is handing over 12 billion *a month* to companies like Halliburton, in our war for oil in Iraq.

Keep the farm subsidies, but toss the ethanol-corn subsidy, (ethanol isn't going to make a tiny dent in our fuel bill) toss the war for oil, throw Bush/Cheney out on their cans.

Sorry but, we are indirectly paying for our food via taxes which go into the subsidies. Just because it isn't reflected in the grocery store price doesn't mean we actually aren't paying extra!

I don't necessarily think the farmers are to blame, if most of us were made funds available we'd probably take them as well.

What is clear to me, especially in the light of the JOKE of Corn Ethanol production, that this thing is a vicious cycle.

This is a shame!!Farmers are getting RECORD prices for the crops and still got there WELFARE approved for 08..They say i make to much money to get a food stamp card..I drive an old truck and barely pay my bills but they give MILLIONS to people who ride around in new trucks while others do the work.. THIS is PATHETIC!!

$12 billion here, $140 billion there, $3 trillion debt. Where does it end?
The economy of the world is rooted in agriculture. If you can't get food you can't DO anything.!
The US, for the present, is able to feed itself and a pretty good sized portion of the rest of the world. The rub is the rest of the world cant afford to feed itself. They are unable to generate the wealth needed to achieve self sufficiency. They must buy food from others who have a surplus. But wait...They don't have the basic requirement for wealth that will allow them to purchase food, or anything else.
Some have oil, some have minerals, but most have too many people, to little usable land, and no ability to make it different.
The solution? Our government basically gives away the agricultural resources that are produced from this country. So how much profit is there for a grower, from the San Juaquin Valley, in a ton of rice, or a ton of cotton, that is sold for 40cents a ton with free shipping to West Africa?
See why we have subsidies for farmers?
If a grower could manage his business, if you and I could manage our affairs, without the intrusion of big government the need for subsidies, and 40% tax on income would be just another mile stone of history.
So where does it end?
It can only end when citizens determine that liberty has a greater value than the security blanket provided by our own government.
It's a tough old world out there, just ask a farmer. So can we stand to live tough? Or do we stay in that warm, pink, and fuzzy place our government has whipped up for us?

You have got to be kidding. WE DO pay for increases in food and cotton in the taxes for subsidies. I would rather see it be only the strong survive.

Other businesses have to do this, why not farmers. I farm and do not take subsidies. Its assanine to suggest other ppl help me out. WELFARE in the worst form.

My buddies cry like little girls every time they get a check that it isnt enough then complain about taxes. GOOD GOD ppl. Wake up. WHo do you think pays this shit to you.

I would just like to say, that most everyone here has good arguments, for both sides. I also have seen both sides of the table, getting my agricultural economics degree from a very well known university, I understand the economics behind not having subsidies, but I am also the daughter of a farmer. A farmer who started his own business at age 21, who learned mostly everything he knew by himself, and worked very hard to become one of the biggest farmers in the area. He knew that being a small farmer was a thing of the past, and he has worked his way up, making a multimillion dollar farm, with only a high school diploma. To me, this is the american dream, and he has gone through many ups and downs to get there. They are defintely people who probably think that the only way he has achieved this was from help from the government, I beg to differ, there are still farmers in are area that started out the same way he did, and they are no longer in business, or still what they were. Sink or swim, you find that in every business in the world. Do I think that the subsidies help out? I am sure of it, and I do believe that the government should start slowly weaning a system that is truly outdated for its time. I just wanted to make sure everyone knew that those big farmers in their area got there somehow, and maybe not they cheated, but maybe there are those select few that worked very hard to get to where they are today, it was their dream. I know my father wanted something better for his children, he didn't want to have to worry about where their next meal came from.

This site is great because it gives people a voice and it has further enlightened me. I have been considering the need for everyone to have access to accurate information so we can all come together for a common good - safe and affordable food grown within our own country. I believe that this is so basic it shouldn't have to be explained. Yet I am wrong.

I know one individual suggested we get our food from Africa - a continent riddled with diseases which we have been fortunate enough to eradicate her in the US, and which includes countries still willing to perform genocide. It would be very difficult to trust such governments to produce safe food or fair prices. I agree with Farmer Jim that we can't afford to have our costs set by foreign dependence either.

No, we need to gain a better understanding of the entire picture. It is easy to live our lives here in America and feel that everything comes from the grocery store. But it does not. It comes from the earth and from the people willing to produce it. It is time we looked to the sources of the problems as a whole, not just the one guy down the street who upsets us by having a new pickup. It is time we all tried to see the big picture and what it means to us and to our country. And it is time we use this information to influence our Congressmen and women.

This is too important to be left to petty, small minded arguing. When your energy is spent after being angry and bitter with each other over one small point you made, you'll still need to go to the fridge and eat something to power back up. Do you want that something to come from a foreign country or a mega farm which injects its livestock and plants with things genetic, antibiotic, and who knows what? Or do you want to be content that is safe and healthy and unlikely to send you to chemotherapy?

I prefer the latter. Please, let us all get a view from the other guys' seat. What is at stake is all of us. Lets put controls on the abusers of the system, and make it harder for the multi million dollar conglomerates, some of whom already set the prices for the little guy, to get our money. Lets also make it possible to get relief when nature makes it impossible to grow what a farmer is able, etc..

The fact that we are all fighting with each other based on our individual experiences or rhetoric we've heard from our political parties, or bitterness of our own about something that was hard for us tells me that the powers that be are winning. When we argue with each other and remain divided, then there will never be a group of us powerful enough to influence the big corporate farms and the parts of our government they pay to vote with them. Rather, they win and we ALL lose.

When the farmers are getting the money it is called a subsidy, when Wall Street gets the money it is called an Economic Stimulus Package, when the guy who just lost his job and has three kids needs money to help with the medical bills it is called Welfare.

These farmers need to get off the Welfare System because that is exactly what it is. If you can not afford to run the farm then I guess you should just get out of farming.

The truth lies somewhere in the middle for all of this.

Is it welfare? Yes. Should it be done away with? Maybe.

For those like Bethany above that ask why don't the farmers get out of the business? Many have and that has allowed others to expand. Some have been family farms. Others have been large corporate farms. There is a difference between the two.

The downside to having little to no family farms of any size is that the land would quickly go to be developed as new homes or the next strip mall. We as a country lose a very valuable asset when that happens. The land, although unfarmed, is still available to farm. If developed it will take many years to make it farmable again, if ever.

It is in the nations best interest to keep farm land and farms available in the US.

Think about the oil industry. Think about the prices that could arise if the US had to depend souly on foreign grown crops. Then look at the quality issue as well. Remember the items coming out of China?

I am just guessing here, but my thought is that even that organic farmers are taking part in these programs as well. Do you think organic products would last all that well shipping from overseas?

Although I really disagree with the premise, I understand of the purpose of having these subsidies in place. Like all large government programs it could use better, more efficient management so that those taking advantage of the system can be removed or even punished.

Why not tie the farm subsidies to per acre of land instead of the individuals. This seems logical to me,but, none of you have any common sense on the matter except for Farmer Jim. By the way I farm 2,500 acres of rice and soybeans and am not ashamed of getting the subsidies. Go ahead and get rid of the subsidies "If you like imported oil you are going to love imported food". Quit whining about the subsidies and get a life people!!!!! The subsidies only account for less than 1/10th of a percent of total federal budeget. We spend more on the war in Iraq in one day than we spend of farm subsidies in one year!!!!

Maybe you're "not ashamed of getting the subsidies", but I see you are ashamed to leave your real name.

Everyone with a complaint, simply buy a farm and sit back and receive your checks. Have a good time with that one!!!!!!!

Hard to hear coworkers brag each and every year about money given to them by there rich parents who gets big welfare checks and they don"t even need it.