The Farm Bill: A Multi-Year Law

Agricultural subsidies is a very complex and controversial economic topic today. It will continue to be a hot topic as government continues it. It is largely debated in the United States as well as in other countries. The reason it is so largely debated is because it literally have an effect on the entire world market. Not to mention that the farm has been booming the last 5 to 10 years. This topic also tends to draw strong opinions in our area in particular due to the large agricultural community in our region. However, even within different states there are many supporters as well as opponents to these government subsidies.

The Labor Unions protect their workers in many different ways people do not know. The Unions make it possible for their members to receive adequate pay better benefits, have left of absences, and have vacation time when you ask and not take the punishment for it. Once you are in the union books it is hard to be fired from it. There is a downside of it, you can be laid off which is not being fired.

If Congress proceeds with legislative revision to SNAP and WIC will lead to economic change in the agricultural production sector in the U.S. economy. Legislative changes like SNAP recipients no longer being able to purchase items like soft drinks and prepackaged food would be substituted for food staples like rice and wheat. While the WIC program would be adding white potatoes to the list of healthier foods options. Because of these changes in SNAP Legislation will allow rice farmers to be better off, sugar farmers to be worst off, wheat farmers to be better off, and white potatoes farmers to be worst off because increased demand for food staples and decrease in demand in sugary products since they are no longer eligible

During the Reagan administration, the Food Stamps Program would suffer severe budget cuts in the year 1981 but was later restored funding in 1988 and 1990 as a means to combat the hunger crisis in America. This led to the accessibility of the EBT card. In the 2008 Farm Bill, the Food Stamp Program would be renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or “SNAP” for short. During the year 2011, the program would become recognized as the largest federal food assistance program in the country, serving 14% of the population (more than 45 million American citizens). On the 7th day of February, 2014, President Barack Obama would sign into law the 2014 Farm Bill, which is also referred to as the Agricultural Act of 2014. In April, 2015 the USDA awarded $31.5 million in funding to local, state, and national organizations to support programs that help participants in SNAP increase their purchase of fruits and vegetables.

The Agricultural Act of 2014 or the farm bill is the public face of agriculture policy today. The farm bill authorizes that a portion of taxpayers’ money be spent on different agriculture and nutrition programs in the United States. On February 7, 2014, the latest farm bill was enacted and will remain active until the year 2018. The current farm bill includes twelve sections or titles. These titles include Commodities; Conservation; Trade; Nutrition; Credit; Rural Development; Research, Extension, and Related Matters; Forestry; Energy; Specialty Crops and Horticulture; Crop Insurance; and Miscellaneous (Agricultural Act of 2014: Highlights and Implications).

The government paid farmers to keep a part of their land out of farming as we can see from the picture on the left. It did this for the 7 basic crops which were, corn, wheat, tobacco, rice, milk, cotton, peanuts. With many farmers participating there were some that decided not to. There were very few though since most didn’t have enough to not participate.

There is much of a competing moral theme in the novel. John mostly become revealed in conversations and dialogue with opposing moral coded characters. And example would be where he sees his love for Alejandra in “right and wrong” therms. Alfonsa sees it as an affair that can be aborted by outside parties. Another example would be the interview by John Grady with the Captain. Anything that John proposed the Captain had a rebuttal against as to why or why not. John becomes a hero not because he stands for his idealistic beliefs, but because he learned to relinquish them when it is necessary to pursue a justice, and when it is necessary to survive.

5Economists are wondering if or not the Farm Help bill gives the farmers too little help, too late.

To pursue effective and long-term change, the current system needs to include a legal structure for environmental conservation. Every five to seven years, federal legislation sets the general direction of agricultural policy (American Farmland Trust [AFT], 2012a). The U.S. Farm Bill of 2008 expires on October 1,

The United States Farm Bill is a document that contains numerous committees in agriculture which was established in 1820 in the House and then 1825 in the Senate. As a matter of fact, the U.S. Farm Bill is a multi-year document of authorizing legislation that governs agriculture, food programs, conservation, rural development, and research. Although the policies for agriculture are constantly changed by the legislation, this bill provides an opportunity for the policy makers to confirm all of the aspects and address agricultural and food issues we have today. Research shows that the U.S. Farm Bill is renewed every five years.

Not only did the bill expand subsidies by 74% over 10 years, but it established a ‘counter cyclical’ price program that guaranteed prices for farmers (Government Printing Office, 2005). Then, in 2014, Congress implemented another extensive farm bill. Not only did it expand crop insurance, it also instituted two subsidy programs; Agricultural Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage. The bill was originally supposed to save taxpayers money; however, it is now clear that the new programs will cost billions more than before (Smith,

Farm subsidies are financial relief for struggling farms. The United States government has subsidized farms since the late 1920s. The government pays out in two ways, in crop insurance and direct payments. This was the time of the Great Depression, and combined with a drought cause horrible economic conditions for farmers also. President Herbert Hoover then established the Farm Board. The Farm Board assisted farmers by buying their crops, this led to overproduction and drove prices down. Franklin Roosevelt was elected into office and introduced the foundation of the current farm subsidy program (“Farm Subsidies.”).

The government provides farms with money, called subsidies. Although many people believe that subsidies are a form of unneeded government interference, these subsidies help keep many farms running, providing a consistent income. Farmers do not see money every day, they get their money in bulk. The money comes from harvests, which are few and far between, and do not always provide well.

The Wisconsin’s right to farm law is also known as Wisconsin statute 823.08. It was originally passed in 1982 and later amended in 1995. Although there were similar statutes relating to agricultural practices before 1982. The right to farm law in Wisconsin is an umbrella that covers and protects many farmers against a variety of lawsuits. The biggest area the “umbrella,” or the law covers are nuisance complaints related to any farm byproduct, such as; smell, noise, and water pollution etc. The law was put into place to protect farmers and to prevent obstruction to the process of production or the use of advancing technology. Wisconsin’s right to farm law is part of a national trend by states changing the common law in hopes of preventing the

The Agriculture sector has changed monumentally over the past century in response to vast economic change and technological advancements. Farm subsidies are various forms of payments from the federal government put in place in an effort to stabilize prices, keep farmers in business, and ensure quality of crops. The federal government currently pays $20 billion in cash each year to US farmers and spent an estimated $250 billion between 1995-2005. Presently, a new farm bill is passed every five years