Here we have another fine example of corporate welfare. 67 percent of farm welfare pork goes to 10 percent of "farmers." Additionally, there is more farm welfare stuff like the CRP, payment for fencing and ponds and much, much more.Lots of folks on this boardrail about welfare for single mothers. Where is the distain for farmers onwelfare?
Find out who the farm welfare king is in your county.
Interesting websight, I know several of the people in the top 20 recipients from my county.One guy in particuliar has pulled in close to $500,000 in the last ten years in the corn and soybean category, he doesnt even have that much farmground around here.
The CRP, putting in ponds, and other conservation programs I actually have very little problems with, thier taking thier land out of productivity to get paid for these and frankly without them my area of the state would be wall to wall plowing without any habitat at all left in the winter months.Weve also drained somewhere around 90% of the wetlands in this state so putting some backs a good thing IMO.
I guess it should be the same as for single mother's. A "get back to work program" and limit on benefit.
How about just cut it off. I have a second cousin who owns one heck of a piece of land, we call it the hill. We have our family reunions there and have been going back decades. The origonal land was mostly paid for by goverment program to turn farmland back to wilderness. He never planned to farm anyway but put the money in his face. This was way back in the sixties, I believe. It's what happens when our goverment officials find the coffers and figures out how to buy votes.
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John Adams “The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.”
Ronald Reagan: 'Everybody that is for abortion has already been born'
"I never said I was worth it. I only said I wouldn't do it for less " William F. Buckley Jr.
The Farm Program is plagued with problems, and has been for some time. The crops with the powerful lobbies get a lot of favorable treatment. It has been in need of major reform for a long time. A good first step would be to get rid of crop subsidies, but I don't see the corn or cotton lobby letting that one go. And they are very, very powerful organizations.
The big $$$ recepients, at least around here, aren't the ones that are receiving the conservation payments. Their $$$ comes from crop subsidies.
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You may beat the rap, but you won't beat the ride!
CRP, ponds, and some of the other stuff you mentioned is intended for wildlife habitat. CRP was done to take land out of production and restore it to native rangeland. In many states, without CRP, their wildlife would be non-existent in places. A lot of the ponds are designed to make up for the loss of wetlands, providing habitat to migratory birds to make up for what was lost to farmland and cities.
As with anything, when a government agency starts writing a check, there is room for abuse. CRP was designed to make up for some of the lost income to the farmer for taking land out of production. A lot of people here buy land for recreational use only, and have no intention of producing anyway. So they can sign up for CRP and get a free check from the government.
My family is using the EQIP program to manage brush. Just off of the grazing, it isn't cost-effective to do some of the things we have done. However, the additional benefits to society as a whole from brush control make it cost-effective, but under the current legal system, benefitting society doesn't benefit us. A government program like EQIP is designed to encourage activities that benefit society as a whole, and make it feasible for landowners to do things they would not otherwise be able to do.
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You may beat the rap, but you won't beat the ride!
Most of the cattleranchershere in OK allow the mesquite take over the place with no effort to control it. Then they get federal money to spray the mesquite and it starts all over again. i know a couple of ranchers who do control their brush with no outside help: Most do not.
"Does anyone have an idea of how much former agricultural land has reverted to natural habitat through government programs?"
Little if any. There are some old farms in the eastern US that have grown up over the years. Most owners never received any federal money though. Dida lot of driving around and checking here in western OK. Some of these guys havemuch of their land in CRP but they continue to clean out the fence rows and woods with dozersin order to grow more cotton, milo and wheat.
Farm Welfare Cash for Agri-Business
