Yeah, I wasn't very clear about that. The Farm Programs are designed in such a way that the farmer, whose natural desire is to produce as large a crop as he can from his farm, will produce more than the US consumer will need.
That happens through several different types of production incentives, such as price floors, storage payments, and extra money if the crop is sold at a certain time during the year. But all this isn't available if the farmer doesn't abide by other restrictions, such as a certain maximum acreage for some crops, or a specified ratio of corn/beans etc.
That normally, the farmer would just plow enough land to feed himself and his family?
I don't know what you mean by 'normally'? Since the 50's we've had huge surpluses. Not sure if that helps.
See my tagline.
I would think that if there is too much food to sell in the states, the rest would be sold overseas.
That, and I was under the impression that the Federal Government stepped in with agriculture to limit production, as farmers tended to naturally overproduce - which then led to prices being too low for farmers to survive.