New Farm Bill

This is not political, it impacts everyone. The Senate has already passed a new Farm Bill (I think there is a new name for it).
It is very important to everyone impacted by the drought the Bill be brought up for vote and passed brfore the House goes on summer break.
Parts of the old Bill have already expired tieing the Dept. of Agriculture's hands in providing drought assistance.
Please contant your Congressman/lady and ask them to do everything they can to get this done before summer break.

Yes just what we need the farmer begging for more at the government trough. Have you every thought of taking care of yourself?????? The farming business is always going to have bad income years. I would say one in ten or even two in ten. So stay prepared.

I have a low level crop insurance policy. That and making use of what crop I will get will get me through. I am sick of being taxed so those that DON"T plan ahead can cry to the government and get money!!!!!

There are guys around me that don't farm that much more than I do that have drawn over a million dollars in Govenment payments in the last ten years.

I would like to see the government out of the payment business completely. If you can't make it in a business than fail and let those that can make it do the job!!!!!

(quoted from post at 07:46:27 07/20/12) Yes just what we need the farmer begging for more at the government trough. Have you every thought of taking care of yourself?????? The farming business is always going to have bad income years. I would say one in ten or even two in ten. So stay prepared.

I have a low level crop insurance policy. That and making use of what crop I will get will get me through. I am sick of being taxed so those that DON"T plan ahead can cry to the government and get money!!!!!

There are guys around me that don't farm that much more than I do that have drawn over a million dollars in Govenment payments in the last ten years.

I would like to see the government out of the payment business completely. If you can't make it in a business than fail and let those that can make it do the job!!!!!

Click to expand...

WELL Said

Thats what crop insurance is for. If you don't have it I don't feel sorry for you. Shameless people always looking for handouts from the government really annoy me!

AMEN!!!!

They need to do SOMETHING! But have you noticed the bill?- it's about 25% for the farmer, and 75% welfare and food program.

I agree. Our federal government is all about handouts, welfare, and entitlements. Robbing Peter to pay Paul. Taking people's wealth and redistributing to the poor. What a socialist mess this country has become. Just like Europe. The hard-working, honest people are penalized and have to support those who would rather live on the dole. And unfortunately, both of the men running for the white house have the mentality that "if there's a problem, government can fix it."

No one is willing to give up their share of the pork, including a majority of farmers.

That is the problem.

The government can stick their assistance programs "where the sun doesn't shine".

I'll play the "hand" God deals to me, as this is the way of life I've chosen.
Thank you very much!

I have insured my crops, will lose some money but not get destroyed. The real loss this year will be in the support industries like farm equipment and food processing. We may need a bill to help these industries. There are a lot of people affected in these industries.

JD:
Did you know that Crop insurance is a USDA GOVERNMENT program? It is handleded through private companies,but it is financed by taxpayer dollars. What you said is sort of like the woman who said: "Get the Government out of my Medicare."

(quoted from post at 11:29:46 07/20/12) I have insured my crops, will lose some money but not get destroyed. The real loss this year will be in the support industries like farm equipment and food processing. We may need a bill to help these industries. There are a lot of people affected in these industries.

Click to expand...

aawww, it ain't WJD's fault, he just mis-typed...he was not trying to post on a tractor forum, but rather, the Americam Socialist forum! :roll:

One of our founding fathers had it right...

"I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it." --Benjamin Franklin

I think ag is important enough to people that it should have a strong backing by govt to help in natural, and especially govt-made disasters. And really, much of the farm disasters can be traced to the 2 grain embargoes from Nixon and Carter....

I'm not sure I really support what has evolved into the farm program of today.

most of it is welfare for town folk. Which isn't farm related.

The rest of it is evolving into govt subsides to insurance companies which provides insurance to remove risk from farming, which means lenders can lend to bigger and bigger farmers.Remove risk, and loans become easier to do. This pushes the natural progression of farms getting larger at an accelerated rate.

As well, the insurance is geared to pay out on per acre income, which means you plant a crop, if anything happens to it you _do not_ do anything to replant, or scramble to grow some kind of poor crop should you flood or dry out or hail out.

Meaning, the farm program now covers farmers well with insurance, but there is no incentive to keep trying to produce some grain.

In a year like this, the current farm program is very counter productive. We are short grain, but thr farm program is telling us not to try replanting, trying to grow some crop.

All in all, the farm program has evolved from subsidees to farmers, to providing subsidies to welfare town folk and insurance companies.

I don't think the USA taxpayer understands what they are getting, and I don't think they are getting a stable food supply from the current bill.

--->Paul

All I see in my area is the farm office providing the "rich" farmers with all the handouts and leaving the small time "poor" farmers to fend for themselves. The rich get richer and the poor gets poorer. Most of the farm programs are designed to benefit the large corporate farm businesses.

I grew up on a farm and still hobby farm, myself...

But what really worries me about the USA's future, is if the politicians can't even cut out subsidy/spending programs for farmers when grains are so SKY-HIGH in price AND the national debt is SO STAGGERING, is there truly any hope to get our national spending under control????


Howard

"there is no incentive to keep trying to produce some grain". We have cash July corn quoted 8.38 and beans at 18.13 at our river terminal elevator today. Would think that provides a little incentive to produce grain for 2013. Too late to replant for this year. The lack of stable food supply this year has little to do with USDA and a lot to do with Mother Nature in our neck of the woods.

John I don't not have Federal crop insurance. I have a private hail policy and that is it. IT is all privately handled I have made sure it is not the hand out that many seem to want. I have not taken ONE single dollar of Federal money since I got out of borrowing any money in 1989. The banks made me have Federal Crop insurance for the first years I was farming.

I am eligible for VA medical coverage but I choose to have my own private coverage. I make the decisions in my life not some Idiot in Washington DC!!!!

Paul, you are mistaken.

The insurance does nto provide anywhere near full compensation, and does encourage replanting as a first option. I will LOSE money collecting the insurance, but it should prevent me from bankrupting.

The govt part is the problem with crop ins. Instead of direct payments that go to the farmers pocket so they can decide how it is spent, it now goes to the ins companies. The govt paying part of a overpriced premium don't benefit the farmer. When I look at my initial sheet in the spring. I don't look at the full rate and make my choice, I look at the part that says how much I need to pay. So If I want any gov't benefits I need to be in the ins program. If people had to pay the full rates themselves, I guarentee they premums wuld be alot less.

Think what you want but Govt involvemnt in crop ins aint helping the farmer.

The last two years of drought have cost me money just like past drouths have and future drouths will, but no one forced me to run cattle and raise the crops needed to feed them, the only tax payer in the United States that should pay for my losses is me. Cut the federal government to what it was in 1789 and we will all be better off.

We had a hailstorm go theough 2 miles north of me. Was 5 miles by 35 mile swath, huge deal. Mid June. Didn't hit any towns over 1000 population, so no one even knows it happens - you know how that goes.

Anyhow, lot of fields devistated, esp beans. Lot of corn 50% or less too tho.

The message over and over and over. Don't replant the beans, don't replant the beans. Any yield you get off those acres, just gets deducted from your payments. If the hailed off beans produce 5 bu, then you get paid for 40 bu loss. If you replant, and get a 35 bu yield from the replant, you get paid for 10 bu loss.

Prevented planting was big last year, a lot still this year. Without PP, those acres would be in beans and would be giving 1/2 - 2/3 of a normal yield.

I understand it makes no difference in the fried out land, nothing going to grow there.

But in the big picture, the farm program insurance deals lower the number of harvested yields.

The protect farmers $$$ wise, but the farm program no longer tries to ensure the best harvest ee can have.

Some of the balance has been lost.

No I don't want to return to the grain reserve program days, then the balance was eay off in the other direction....

--->Paul

Well It is political and like you said it does affect everyone.Just like everything they do in DC.

I remember hearing something about the majority of the farm subsidy's are going to the farms owned by the members of congress and others that are allready well off.

BOTH versions of the farm bill end direct payments. But..... they replace them with "risk" coverage that is funded by the gov't. So the "savings" from eliminating direct payments are less.

The Senate version is loved by corn and soybean farmers because they would get the most benefits. The House version gives a choice between price and revenue loss coverage with the use of target prices and southerners prefer this approach.

Nutrition programs account for some 75%-80% of the "farm" bill. nnalert are howling at cutting $16 billion from nutrition programs (House version) over 10 years (10-year spending on nutrition is around $750 bil. to $800 billion) while the Senate would cut it $4 billion over 10 years.

Commodity programs -- the payments to farmers -- would be cut by $23 billion in the House and $19 billion in the Senate over 10 years.

What about disaster help? Some of those calling for a restart of the SURE program (disaster program from 2008 farm bill) are the same ones that ended that and livestock assistance programs at the end of Sept. 30, 2011 so they could save money. Guess what? Now they want it reinstated for 2012! And, livestock disaster help would restart with the new bill, but not for crops. Reason: $$ it costs.

If the House passes the bill before the August break, they still need to work out differences with the Senate and that will take a while. And do you think they want to vote on an overall bill before Nov. 5???

And for those who say we MUST pass it by Sept. 30 (when current bill authority ends), nope! It's called an extension. The 2002 Farm Bill was extended several times before the 2008 Farm Bill (which started as the 2007 farm bill fyi) was finally passed.

As for crop insurance, yes there is a 60%+ subsidy on premiums. That started via legislation passed in 2000. The concept was to get people into crop insurance and it achieved that goal.

Sorry such a long post but thought some facts might be good to lob in here.

always has been that way.welfare,food banks,etc.but theres one most folks dont even know about,school lunches.that alone is a far bigger part than ALL farm assistance programs.

Remember what Boo Boo said: You didn't build your business, the government did.

None of our leaders in Washington DC are concerned about our country and it's future. What they are concerned about is getiing re-elected. Thus the reason for the out of control spending and give away programs. Most folks don't realize that the government is you and I.

This is from a commentary I heard on the radio this week, so I can't verify the total accuracy. The total farm program is about $750,000,000,000. That's right, 750 billion!! Hits you harder when you see the zeros. Of that about $35,000,000,000 actually goes to agricultural related programs, and this has been cut about $15 billion from last year. The remainder,$715,000,000,000, goes to fund food stamps(welfare). No wonder no one wants to work anymore.

You're too low by about $220 billion.

I'm all for helping the poor and the disadvanaged.....
But why do we have to make them so damn rich

Those automatic per acre subsidies have been eliminated in the new bill.