US Farm Programs Need To Focus On Stabilizing, and Stop Subsidizing

Implications: US farm programs have lost their focus, and are providing subsidies to farmers during a year of record incomes.  In addition, a continued focus by the US government on expanding biofuels will do more to stimulate agricultural production in other countries, than it will here in the US.

Analysis: US farm programs have lost their focus--lost their reason for existing, so it's not surprising to see yet another article, like this one, talking about millionaires getting farm subsidy checks.  Why do millionaires get farm subsidies?  Because although the US government talks a lot about farm programs being there to help small farmers, in reality, the bulk of the program focuses on stabilizing and subsidizing commercial agriculture, so how much money you have, or you make, really isn't an issue.

Case in point....just last month I received my final "counter-cyclical" payment for corn and soybean production, amounting to a little over $23 per acre.  The odd thing is that the crop that I just harvested (approximately 210 bu. of corn per acre sold for around $3.50 per bushel, raised at a total cost of about $250 per acre...you do the math) generated lifetime high net returns-per-acre.  So I'm not sure what "cycle" these payments are supposed to be "counter" to, but clearly, it can't be net incomes.

Furthermore, this talk of expanding renewable fuels goals is mind boggling.  Look at commodity prices, and you can see the challenges commodities are having trying to keep up with the current goals.  Unless we release acres from the conservation reserve program, there are no more acres in this country to farm, they are pretty much all being used, so trying to do more biofuels from corn and soy, really means you are sending signals to other countries. 

With our farms in Brazil ramping up to raise more soy, that's fine with me, but it doesn't make much sense to me as a US farmer and taxpayer.