So long as it's chump change.

Jim Wiesemeyer at AgWeb reinforces a suggestion we heard last night. The supposed 2 percent 'cut' in direct payments over four years that was announced yesterday as yielding (a pitiful) $400 million in savings will actually result in only $200 million in subsidy reductions.

Why? Evidently CBO determined that fresh expenditures under the new 'average crop revenue program' provision in the bill will offset half of the direct payment savings.

In other words, about half the money that comes out of a subsidized farmer's direct payment pocket through the 2 percent 'cut' will be slipped back into his brand new 'average crop revenue' pocket.

Neat, huh? And don't forget, direct payments apparently are fully restored in the fifth year of the bill.

EWG will be publishing the names of 2007 direct payment recipients, and the amount they received, on Tuesday. That's about a year ahead of our normal schedule. We usually wait for commodity certificate and other loan transactions to clear through the calendar year.

But with direct payments looming so large in this farm bill, and the debate coming to a head this week, we had our computer wiz Chris Campbell dig $5 billion in 2007 direct payments out of the data pile for early publication.

How did he do it? For those of you with a technical bent, Chris got behind the wheel of this baby:

The new data should help reporters and the public put the farm bill deal in perspective this coming week. Reporters will be able to get reaction to the farm bill from direct payment subsidy recipients, many of whom are prospering as never before from high crop prices. And taxpayers will be able to compare direct payment handouts with their dinky little economic stimulus checks--which, knowing taxpayers, they'll probably run right out and blow on extravagances like food, gas and housing.