Editor’s Note: With a new year on the horizon, Farm Policy Facts is taking a look back at some of the top stories of 2016. Below is a compilation of our most talked about and shared pieces of the year.
Why Trump Needs a Strong Agriculture Secretary
“In most elections, rural America, farmers, and ranchers are chalked off as too small to affect the outcome. But, every now and again, they prove that theory wrong… Fortunately, the politics of supporting agriculture make good sense.”
New Public Opinion Poll Shows Strong Support for Farmers and Farm Policy
“In an election year that has seen sharp divides among candidates and voters on the major issues of the day, there is one policy area that is receiving widespread, bipartisan support: farm policy and crop insurance.”
The U.S. Files WTO Complaint Against China on Behalf of American Farmers
“Let us put this in plain terms: the entire farm safety net spending for 2015 for the United States was about $12 billion, which is well below our limits agreed to in the WTO. Whereas, China went over its limits on just three crops by $100 billion in that same year!”
Standing Up for America’s Farm and Ranch Families
“This farm safety net, which can mean life or death for independent farm and ranch families suffering losses like the one described, is a small investment for taxpayers representing 0.26 percent of federal spending.”
Our View: Where Would We Be Without Our Farmers
“Now some may argue that farming is a choice and the stresses farmers face are no different than that of other families trying to make a living. That’s a fair point, but here’s the catch: growing our food and fiber is a job that we all rely upon as roughly one percent of the nation’s population feed the remainder. That makes the difference.”
Farm Policy (Finally) Gets a Fair Shake From a Major Media Outlet
“The message that’s portrayed from these think tanks is not that [farm policy] is half of one percent of federal spending, but that it’s half of federal spending.”
Our View: Heritage Recycles Old Proposal to Nix Risk Management Tools for Farmers
“Suggesting we eliminate our investment in a secure, domestic food supply, which is less than half of one percent of federal spending, makes about as much sense as suggesting we eliminate our investment in our military and national security. Sure, that would save a tiny bit of money in the short-term, but at what cost to the country’s future? Heritage just doesn’t get it, and apparently, when it comes to rural America, they never will.”
New Study Reveals Shocking Lack of Knowledge About Farm Policy at Farmers’ Expense
“From every angle, there was not even the pretense of fairness to understand farm policy, and demonstrably, there was not a single effort to try. It was just another blatant and ignorant attack on the men and women who are working daily to meet the demands of a growing, hungry world.”
Farming Needs Strong Policy and Crop insurance
“As farmers, we have no control over weather. We have no control over markets. We have no control over our foreign competitors. We cannot just turn our operations on or off. We have to take care of the land 365 days a year. We need a safety net when commodity prices fall. We need affordable and reliable crop insurance to protect our yearly investments.”
Our View: Hold the Thin Green Line
“We absolutely agree that national security should be a top priority, which is why we find it so ironic that Heritage is simultaneously lobbying to unilaterally disarm America’s farm policy.”