Western Sugar, a company now owned by farmers, closed its Goodland, Kan., sugarbeet factory in 1985. Sugar prices were low, the cost of doing business was climbing, and tough decisions were made that hurt workers and farmers. The Kansans who lost their jobs weren’t alone. From 1985 to 2008 low sugar prices remained stagnant as…
DetailsOpponents of U.S. ethanol—Brazil, Big Oil, and multinational food conglomerates looking to drive down farmer prices to boost their own profits—have a tendency to blame the alternative fuel for just about everything. And just when we didn’t think it could get more absurd than the off-the-wall argument that American corn farmers are to blame for…
DetailsAs the United States Congress begins debate of the 2012 Farm Bill, America’s biggest competitors on the global marketplace have been steadily increasing their rates of subsidization, according to a study by DTB Associates. And one of the biggest offenders is also one of the biggest agricultural superpowers and biggest critics of U.S. farm policy:…
DetailsAgriculture has had a strong year. We’ve been reading reports of farms prospering for the better part of a year now. In October it was said that Iowa’s corn and soybean crop alone would almost quadruple the state’s budget. Just last month, the USDA announced that farm exports reached a record high of $137.4 billion…
DetailsA new study of official foreign government data unearthed by DTB Associates shows that a rapid run-up in farm subsidies have put many developing nations, including Brazil Thailand, and India, in direct violation of internationally agreed to subsidization limits. The findings are consistent with a detailed handbook of foreign farm subsidies by Texas Tech University,…
DetailsThe nation’s capital has become synonymous with gridlock—and not just because it is home to one of the worst commutes in the country. With elections looming and elected leaders from both sides of the aisle dug in, Congress and the Administration have put the brakes on nearly everything. But a debt reduction bill crafted by…
DetailsFollowing its anti-farm editorial last week, The Washington Post received two letters to the editor taking exception with its extreme stance. Not surprisingly, the newspaper failed to publish either letter, so Farm Policy Facts obliged. ——– Dear Editor: By any reasonable measure, your calling for the termination of U.S. farm policy is extreme. The Post…
DetailsSitting on a combine for 12 hours a day harvesting corn and soybeans gives a person a certain degree of clarity, combined with long blocks of time to think and analyze. Looking at the corn I’m harvesting, I marvel at the fact that somehow, my family farm managed to dodge the many bullets Mother Nature…
DetailsShoppers won’t be scared off by a rocky economic outlook this Halloween. And their appetite for delicious candy is certain to be a treat for America’s thriving confectionery industry. “Consumer spending for Halloween is expected to be spirited this year, with sales of $6.9 billion, up from $5.8 billion in 2010, according to a National Retail Federation…
DetailsShort of a farm bill vote, or a piece of agricultural legislation moving across the President’s desk for signature, big-city newspapers rarely focus on farm-related news. But that’s exactly what happened recently. It began on October 23 when the Houston Chronicle credited crop insurance with saving “Texas farmers from ruin.” More than 41,000 farmers in…
DetailsCritics of farm policy often like to label it a “New Deal” policy. Their hope is to make the policies that underpin the best food system in the history of the world sound outdated. Never mind the fact that farm policies have undergone radical changes since that time to keep pace with modern challenges and…
DetailsOctober 19, 2011 Dear Senator: We urge you to oppose amendments to the Fiscal Year 2012 Agriculture Appropriations Bill that propose to alter or negatively affect the mandatory funding for U.S. farm policies. As you know, the agriculture appropriations bill, as reported by the committee, fully complies with discretionary spending guidelines. This is the end…
Details