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USA | Ttop,
You make some valid points.
What got me to thinking about this is this article in Farmweek.
http://www.ilfb.org/viewdocument.asp?did=19161
Says there is about $5 billion a year spent on direct payments. What purpose do these payments serve? IMO it would serve agriculture better to trade these payments for some type of estate tax relief.
If I was in charge of writing a new farm bill, this is what it would look like.
Raise loan rates on corn to $3, soybeans $7, wheat $5. Have a food- energy reserve that could be used if prices drop below these levels. Grain would be released from the reserve @ 150% of loan rates. If this type of program had been in place instead of the LDP debacle, would be a lot better off today.
With this type farm program and tax payer subsidized crop insurance, should be more than adequate for a safety net. Yet give the tax payer more bang for the buck than current and past wasteful farm programs, that have given us in the current problems we are facing.
Edited by coup 10/17/2010 10:17
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Time for some horse trading on estate taxes
