Posted on 07/05/2012 6:04:51 AM PDT by listenhillary
The federal government paid out $10 billion in direct farm payments over the past decade to farmers who in a given year didn’t grow the crop they were being paid to grow, according to a government audit released Tuesday.
Worse still, 2,300 farms that received federal taxpayer money didn’t grow any crops for five continuous years on land they were being paid for, according to the report by the Government Accountability Office, which comes as Congress is debating the latest version of the farm bill.
The system, known as “direct payments,” was created in the 1990s as a temporary measure to try to wean farmers off government subsidies, but it turned into a permanent support in the past decade. The payments are just one category of federal subsidies to support farmers.
Now, a backlash is brewing — so much so that the Senate’s version of the farm bill would cancel direct payments. The House is working on its own version of the bill, but all sides seem to agree the direct-payment system has run its course.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Oh no....Sam Donaldson, Bruce Springsteen and many Hollywood stars may have to give up farming.
The free market solution is to end all government payments to farmers.
A shirt tail relative in Iowa has collected over $1 million over the past 10 years from programs like this.
I don’t agree with the farm subsidy program but I know that farms produce our sustainance. Meanwhile, there is wide spread abuse in food stamps, also administered by the Ag Department, and there is no move to fix that problem caused by people who are contributing nothing except CO2.
This problem can be fixed pretty easy, just attach a penalty to the subsidy application “failure to abide by the rules of the program means the subsidy is actually payment for the property which will be forfeited to be put up for sale. If that does not ensure compliance, nothing will.
Food stamps should be done away with and direct gifts of foodstuffs should be made. Boxes of sustainance could be distributed, say by UPS, Fed Ex or the post office each week. End of fraud as bartering away food stuffs is much harder than selling food stamps or buying stuff that should not be on the menu of a maintanance program IMO.
Farmers do get paid to NOT farm their land. I would think that would be an abuse of taxpayer money.
Here in west central IL, there are husband and wife ‘teams’ that beat the payment limits by farming ‘separately’. About 30 miles east of me, one couple in Knox County, IL combined for 2.5 mil from 1995-2011. The top money getter in that county is Block Farms with 2.7 mil. At the EWG website you can see that the address is in VA!. Yep, former ag sec John Block got ‘Potomac fever’ (got a good job there after his resignation), and never left the DC area after his resignation in the early 80’s.
The farm subsidies are about supplying Ay Dee eeM, Kar gil, etc. with the lowest possible grain prices. They are definitely not about helping the small farmer. The fewer the farmers, the easier they are to control.
millions a year to keep crop land idle is paid to the landowner. I used to receive $100 a year to keep two acres of a farm in native grasses and weeds. I got out this year since I can make about $200 growing soybeans in a good year and nothing in a bad year.
Check out the CRP program through the US Ag department.
Farmers do not save any money. It all is rolled on the next crop. New equipment, fertilizer, fuel, seeds, is expensive. Insurance if you can afford it. And they support the family with the earnings. We need them.
Farm subsidies are not the problem if given to the real farmers. Sam Donaldson and Sting I have my doubts.
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