As we await a possible presidential veto on the recently passed farm bill, it’s imperative to set the record straight about what this farm bill does and what American agriculture does for this country.

The President has referred to this farm bill as “bloated” and in need of greater reform to the farm safety net.  Let’s be clear about something:  almost 66 percent of the spending in this farm bill does not go to farmers.  It goes to the nutrition title of the bill, which consists primarily of food stamps and school nutrition programs.  Only about 11 percent of the spending in this “bloated” farm bill goes to the safety net for American agriculture.

More to the point – this bill spends $10 billion above the original budget for the farm bill.  The nutrition title is receiving $10.4 billion in additional money.  Basic math tells you that the additional funding raised for this bill is not going to farmers.  It is blatantly disingenuous to tie any claim that this farm bill is bloated to the safety net for farmers.

Agriculture is complicated, and most people are far removed from the fields and tractors.  Because of those two simple facts, everyone should be wary of simple sound bytes about this farm bill and the safety net for American agriculture. During a presidential election year, it’s easy for politics and spin to win over sound policy, but hopefully Americans will resist the hype.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 19th, 2008 at 2:36 pm and is filed under Politics .