Posted by MarkB_MI on November 07, 2012 at 18:52:12 from (75.198.86.118):
In Reply to: Farm subsidies posted by Fritz Maurer on November 07, 2012 at 16:58:42:
Fritz, I have a suspicion you know more about the farm program than anyone else here and you're just looking to stir the pot. Just the same, I'll take the bait.
To understand the farm program (which is really a bunch of loosely related programs), you have to look at its roots in the 1920s and 1930s. In the twenties, farm commodity prices soared due to a number of reasons mostly related to WWI. This led to overproduction and poor farming practices. This was at a time when nobody really understood what good farming practices should be, particularly on the Great Plains. A collapse in commodity prices, drought and the stock market crash all happened at roughly the same time, leading to the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. The farm program we have today is descended from the programs that were introduced in the thirties, which had two goals: Improve farm commodity price stability, and encourage good farming practices, in particular soil conservation.
The current programs are still focused on price stabilization and conservation. Stabilization is performed by a combination of price supports and production limits. Soil conservation programs subsidize various projects such as terracing to prevent erosion. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a bit of both: it removes marginal land from production, reducing production while requiring the farmer to plant grass and perform other actions to reduce soil erosion.
Now, there are plenty of criticisms you can make of the farm program, including that it's a political sacred cow that largely benefits wealthy farmers and big corporations. The current budget realities mean the farm program will certainly be trimmed if Congress ever agrees to a budget.
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