The Farm Bill Affect U?

Question

How does the farm bill affect people who are not farmers? my friend suggested something about corn??

Answer 1

The Farm Bill can affect people who are not farmers the same way the price of oil affects people who don't drill oil. Everyone eats, so the things that might affect the price of food affects everybody. Right now the price of corn is high because of it's use as ethanol. This is probably the connection your friend was talking about.

Answer 2

Tax payers pay taxes in part so the Government can pay subsidies to CERTAIN farmers. Corn farmers gobble up a huge share of those subsidies.

Since I am a small farmer, grow organically....opps, sorry, I forgot, it's illegal for me to use the "O" word, because the Government now owns it, and I refuse to pay the Government to come inspect my farm. Anyway, because I'm a small farmer, and grow with nature, the way nature intended, I do not qualify for ANY subsidies.

No help for the small farmer who does not polute. So the only way the farm bill affect me personally is in the taxes I have to pay to support other farmers who grow in unprofitable ways, and must be given hand-outs by the Government. Ironic, isn't it?

If you are really and truelly interested in this subject, read The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. It is a really well written book that anyone can enjoy, and learn a TREMENDOUS amount about how the Government sponsored corn cycle works, and why the Government does it.

~Garnet
Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

Answer 3

The farm bill does affect everyone. Since our politicians insist on free trade with countries that have lower costs, and allow cheap imports to our Country, some subsidies must be made to keep American Ag alive. (why did the Govt bail out Chrysler in the early 80s?) We are losing massive amounts of farmland each year to developments, (housing) and in order to keep people from selling farmland, we must make it somewhat profitable to keep producing crops. Unfortunately ,most of the subsidies are given to corporate farms and not the smaller family farms. We are already close to importing more food than we export, and when we cross the line, we are SCREWED! When we depend on foreign countries for our food supply, we are in trouble, look at our oil prices! Plus no country has the quality of food as we do in the USA, or the efficiency of production. In Africa, they kicked the White farmers off their farms and now they are starving, because the people who knew how to farm are gone! Our farm land must be preserved.

Mr E: You made the comment about lazy farmers??? You have got to be kidding!! I grew up on a Dairy farm, We didn't have company health care, no paid vacations, no weekends off, no vacations...X-mas, New years, Thanksgiving, whatever it was, the work still had to be done. And its not a 8 hr job, we started before 6 am and many days worked later than 10pm. So who the hell are you calling LAZY, and should get a real joB?? You city slickers dont know squat!

Answer 4

I'm a Canadian farmer. Your US farm bill and our government promote within country barriers that cost comsumer government and consumers large amounts of money. When will we smarten up and develop a food producing consortium similar to Opec. Many countries of the world would find out how good oil tastes. We don't have to starve the world but get a fair return for our food instead of driving the price down. Asian countries put trade barriers against food and our exports that would dissapear the instant there was a chance they would be hungry.

Answer 5

the farm bill effects everyone. about 10%of the bill go to reduce hot lunch at our schools,35 % is for wellfair only 20%is in the hand of thefarmer and the rest goback to USDA to inspect all that food you eat. lazy maybe u can work 18 hr aday and let the gov tell u what they pay u for product or take them out of the hole deal and then corn could be 10/bu and your steak or burger 15to 20lb

Answer 6

The government gives millions of dollars to these "welfare farmers" who go out and buy huge trucks and bling and junk. Everyday, hard working Americans like you and me have to see these lazy bastards living off government handouts -- and we get discouraged! It makes me sick -- those people really need to go out and find (real) jobs.

Answer 7

ANY TIME THE GOVERNMENT PAYS SOMEONE NOT TO GROW A CROP, THE PRICE OF THAT COMMODITY IS GOING UP WHICH MAKES MY GROCERY BILL GO UP.