Out from the manure lagoon
EVERY FIVE years Congress passes a farm bill that makes a gesture or two toward land conservation -- but mainly enriches large corporate producers of corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, and cotton. Growers of those commodity crops have received almost $70 billion in taxpayer subsidies in the past five years.
The switch to Democratic control of Congress could lead to a bill this year that cuts back on the subsidies to agribusiness in favor of assisting vegetable and fruit growers. But don't bet on it. Several of the newly elected Democrats come from districts that benefit from the status quo. Improving on previous farm bills will take a bumper crop of leadership on Capitol Hill.
A new point raised against the crop subsidies is that they hold down the price of corn syrup, soybean oil, and other ingredients in the soft drinks and junk food that are contributing to the nation's obesity epidemic. At the same time, more healthful foods get little or no help, so their costs rise beyond the reach of many families. Fruit and vegetable growers are not asking for direct subsidies, but they would like more help getting their products into nutrition programs for schoolchildren, the elderly, and low-income families.
A broader-based farm bill could also assist in building the infrastructure of local processing plants, slaughterhouses, and farmers' markets that would help smaller farms with diversified crops or livestock to succeed. Current policy favors the centralized industrialization of farming. This not only creates the manure lagoons of hog farms but also requires wasteful expenditures of energy, as livestock and grains must be shipped longer distances for processing and marketing.
If Congress does cut subsidies in favor of programs that will genuinely benefit rural America, it need not fear a veto by President Bush. In fact, the administration correctly wants to deny any subsidies to farmers with adjusted gross incomes of $200,000 or more and would cap payments to farmers at $360,000. The administration is also backing a loan program to help young farmers get started in a profession in which the mean age is now 55. Its package includes provisions to encourage development of cellulosic ethanol, which is much more energy-efficient than corn-based ethanol, and the use of wood biomass as an energy source.
These forward-looking plans will not get the funding they need if Congress refuses to touch the subsidy programs, which are also coming under increasing attack from the World Trade Organization as unfair to producers in other countries. The farm bill will test the ability of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate majority leader Harry Reid to translate their victory last fall into solid improvements in policies that reach into all the kitchens in America.
