The global unfair trade practices that hurt American farmers and ranchers every day aren’t exactly state secrets, despite claims by opponents of agriculture who blindly argue that they don’t really exist or matter.
American wheat farmers lose close to $1 billion in revenue each year because certain countries are violating trade rules under the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, according to a new study.
USDA forecasts that when all is said and done, American farmers will have a combined farm income that is less than half of what it was just two years ago. This alone is staggering. But it may well mark just the beginning of a depressed farm economy the effects of which may very well adversely impact the entire sector and cascade across other sectors of our economy.
Nearly a decade ago, the World Trade Organization found the European Union guilty of violating trade rules. Since that ruling, the EU has implemented radical changes to its sugar policy. But, will those changes help further free trade and lead to a subsidy-free system as some in the EU are claiming?
The critics of U.S. farm policy should feast their eyes on a new study that puts into perspective what America’s farmers are up against on the global market. While the U.S. made sweeping reforms and cuts to farm policy in the 2014 Farm Bill, its competitors were busy ramping up trade-distorting subsidies for their own producers. For some countries, support price levels for certain commodities have increased by more than 100 percent over the last decade, according to the report.
The nations in question include Brazil, China, India, Turkey, and Thailand – all member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The report, which was sponsored by U.S. commodity organizations including the USA Rice Federation and is an update of a 2011 study, explains that “these countries are major producers, consumers, and in many cases, exporters of agricultural products, the effects of [their] policies are felt globally.”
Much has been made about the President’s FY2016 budget and its proposed cuts to the risk management tools on which farmers depend. In fact, leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have been critical of the budget for its attack on crop insurance, and lawmakers recently received a pointed letter on the subject from…
Last week, newspapers in two different and diverse regions of the country featured editorials on the importance of crop insurance, which highlights how it has become the risk management of choice for farmers nationwide. Steve Baccus, a family farmer from Kansas and the former president of the Kansas Farm Bureau, wrote in the Wichita Eagle that…
The merits of having a strong farm policy, including risk management tools like crop insurance, are many times overlooked, dismissed, and even criticized by the leading papers and media outlets of the day. Instead, the critics of farm policy are given far more opportunities to rail against our nation’s secure food supply and the people…
“The farm – best home of the family, main source of national wealth, foundation of civilized society, the natural providence.”
One will find these wise words inscribed on the façade of Union Station in Washington, D.C. The historic site was built around the turn of the century when the nation was experiencing progress of every kind. There was industrial capacity, oil production, telecommunications, a major transportation system in the form of railroads, and most importantly, there was agriculture. The U.S. had established itself as a major agricultural producer on the world stage not only because of newly invented tools like mechanical reapers that improved crop harvests, but also because of westward expansion, which increased the diversity of American agricultural production.
Today, more than a hundred years later, that quote still captures the essence of American agriculture and its importance to the progress and success of our country. American agriculture remains diverse; it remains a source of national wealth and the pride of American families.
In true Ebenezer Scrooge-like fashion, opponents of farm policy used Christmas Eve as a workday to criticize the men and women who helped put holiday meals on tables from coast to coast. The attack came in the form of a Dec. 24 Wall Street Journal op-ed penned by Bruce Babcock and Vincent Smith, and…
Months after receiving preferential government loans, farmers in India soon will be allowed to walk away from their debts without repayment of either principal or interest, according to a Dec. 9 article by Bloomberg. The outlet explained how some in the India agricultural community are using the free money to expand at a time…
Matthew King, a farmer from central Ohio, recently took to the editorial pages of the Columbus Dispatch to defend America’s current farm policy. And he gave some real-world perspective on the skin-in-the-game farmers have in today’s system. “In 2013, our farming operation’s crop-insurance premium totaled more than my wife’s annual salary as a local…
When it comes to economic conditions on the farm, the theme of Reuters, Bloomberg, and some other news outlets is to speak only of bumper crops and expected higher Farm Bill costs. In the aggregate—though that is not how farmers repay their loans or obtain financing—U.S. farm income will not be up as one might…
Farm Policy Facts has long stressed the importance of crop insurance to our farm safety net. We are pleased to see these same views being echoed in mainstream media, especially in light of the number of column inches given to our critics. The following column, by farmer Matthew King, appeared recently in the Columbus…
The popularity of crop insurance was on full display during debate of the 2014 Farm Bill, and the phrase “do no harm to crop insurance” was uttered over and over again by farm leaders and policymakers alike when describing their policy goals. Lawmakers embraced the policy because, with crop insurance, farmers have skin in the…
The passage of the 2014 Farm Bill marked a pivotal point in U.S farm policy, whereby the federal government ended direct payments in favor of crop insurance that farmers purchase to meet their unique needs. Crop insurance has been around since the 1930s and for most of that time was widely underused and unknown.…
When commodity prices were strong, farm incomes were up, and the agricultural sector was credited with helping offset some of the economic misery caused by the housing crisis, not too many people seemed happy for America’s farmers. Quite the opposite. A lot of folks used the positive economic situation to attack agriculture and farm…
Thailand is a behemoth in the world rice market by anyone’s definition. Using an assortment of subsidies and government programs, Thailand had grown to become the world’s biggest rice exporter by 2011. That year, it shipped 10.6 million tons of rice – or nearly one-third of global exports. Apparently, that wasn’t good enough. In…
During its recent annual convention, the American Sugar Alliance unveiled two educational videos to illustrate the ever-increasing rates of foreign sugar subsidization that are destroying the free market. The first video described the stagnant, low-price environment in North America and steps taken by the U.S. sugar industry to increase its efficiency to survive, including…
The number of young farmers is trending modestly upwards, according to 2012 Ag Census released earlier this year. Young, beginning principal operators who reported their primary occupation as farming increased 11.3 percent from 36,396 to 40,499 between 2007 and 2012. This increase in new blood is a welcome sight for a sector that has…
Farm Policy Facts has never shied away from calling out farm policy critics for mischaracterizing agriculture, defying common sense, or twisting facts to suit their agendas. Yet for all the foolishness we’ve encountered – like comparing farmers to cheap drunks at an open bar, or critics’ close ties with Brazil, or erroneous claims of billionaires…
During the Farm Bill debate, many agricultural leaders pointed out the fact that farm policy should be written for the bad times, not the good. It appears that such challenging times might be here sooner rather than later, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) forecasting farm income to drop 14…
Sugar prices are in the tank, production efficiency in foreign countries is falling, and the globe’s growing appetite for subsidization is to blame. That was the message delivered loud and clear at this week’s International Sweetener Symposium. A four-year glut of sugar has depressed prices and cut world prices in half since 2011, Jose…
Our country is blessed with the most diverse and affordable food supply on the planet. We owe this to smart farm policy, the innovations of technology and chiefly to the “thin green line” of only 210,000 full-time U.S. farms that take on tremendous financial risks each year to produce a product that is safe,…
The following column by Senator Mike Johanns is the most recent installment in the Senator’s weekly column series. Nebraska is no stranger to the forces of Mother Nature. From violent thunderstorms and tornadoes to blizzards to drought, we’ve seen many heart wrenching examples of destructive weather. This is especially true for our state’s ag…
As you fire up the grill this Independence Day, be sure to thank a farmer, whose contributions help keep the cost of a Fourth of July feast under $6 bucks a person, according to a recent survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation. Considering Americans spend just 10 percent of our incomes on food –…
In addition to the list of harmful amendments FPF circulated earlier today, additional attempts to damage the Farm Bill have surfaced. Farm Policy Facts urges members of Congress to oppose any amendment during the appropriations process that would harm the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) or crop insurance, including: Royce Amendment to Shift USDA…
Moments after Farm Policy Facts sent out a note urging members to vote no on Rep. Ron Kind’s (D-WI) anti-privacy amendment, the Dear Colleague letter below was distributed by Reps. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Tom Rice (R-SC), and Henry Cuellar (D-TX). The Kind amendment is bad policy and should be rejected—as should all attempts to reopen…
Farm Policy Facts urges members of Congress to oppose any amendment during the appropriations process that would harm the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) or crop insurance, including: The Kind Amendment to Disclose Private Farmer Information The Kind Amendment would strip out ALL privacy protections for farmers and ranchers participating in crop insurance, resulting…
More than 30 agriculture groups are calling on Congress to oppose any amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations bill that would undo the careful compromises of the bipartisan 2014 Farm Bill, including the important risk management tools provided through the federal crop insurance program. The Farm Bill was enacted into law only four months ago and…
America’s farmers and ranchers can certainly relate to a former president’s quip that “about the time we can make ends meet, somebody moves the ends.” Producers from across the country breathed a collective sigh of relief after a four-year-long debate over a five-year Farm Bill finally came to a successful conclusion on February 7 and…
Editor’s Note: The following guest op-ed by Max Claybaker, a farmer and a crop insurance insurance agent from Blackwell, Oklahoma, appeared in The Oklahoman on Sunday, June 1. In some parts of Oklahoma, it seems like wheat farmers just can’t catch a break. A late spring freeze, combined with excessively dry or extreme drought conditions…
It is fair to say that things are a little hectic right now in farm country.Drought and fires continue their stranglehold on many farmers and ranchers while wet weather has seriously delayed planting for many others. The Farm Bill was approved by Congress only three months ago and implementation is only barely just begun. Important…
Editor’s Note: This column appeared in the May 23, 2014 edition of DTN-Progressive Farmer. Dear DTN-The Progressive Farmer: We write to clear up a few inaccuracies in your column of May 20, 2014, entitled Washington Insider: The Fight for Ag Policy Principles. First, President Bush did not veto twice or even once the 2002 Farm…
The Heritage Foundation recently published a new report detailing its 10 “guiding principles” for agriculture. As in the case of other reports, this report also departs from the respected analysis Heritage was once known for in favor of what appears to be the talking point of donors. Over the years, Heritage increasingly starts with…
The following guest editorial by Bing Von Bergen, past president of the National Association of Wheat Growers, recently appeared in the Helena Independent Record: When the 2014 Farm Bill became law, it marked a pivotal moment in the history of U.S. farm policy. The new Farm Bill eliminated direct payments and replaced them with…
On April 14, more than two months after enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (the Farm Bill), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its revised estimates of the spending baseline for farm policy. During the long debate on the Farm Bill, proponents touted savings that the Farm Bill was expected to produce —…
Nine in 10 Americans who will be celebrating Easter this year say they plan to stock up on candy, according to a National Retail Federation survey released April 9. All told, these celebrants will spend a combined $2.2 billion of Easter candy—an average of nearly $22 each—the survey found. Those sales represent an incredible…
The 2014 Farm Bill represents a big transition for a major sector of the economy. Since 1996—for the past 18 years—farmers of major field crops from across the nation have received direct payments from Uncle Sam to help abate the risks associated with production agriculture. With the enactment of the Farm Bill—the Agricultural Act of 2014—those…
When the 2014 Farm Bill was passed, Farm Policy Facts applauded lawmakers for preserving this cornerstone of the farm safety net—crop insurance. The prioritization of crop insurance in the 2014 Farm Bill stands as a clear recognition that these tailored policies are playing the most integral role in farmers’ risk management portfolio, even as…