Sweet deal for the sugar industry

Washington Examiner, Jan. 3, 2014

 

While Congress is still shaping a new farm bill that will set federal agriculture policies for the next five years, at least one item is almost certain to remain intact in the final draft: the sugar program.

Farm subsidies typically are among the most bipartisan measures on Capitol Hill, as lawmakers from agricultural states and districts — despite party — come together to ensure their success. And the sugar program is no exception.

But a growing coalition of fiscal conservatives, free marketers and environmentalists, along with with the powerful food-manufacturing industry, say the federal policy aimed at helping sugarcane farmers is archaic and unfair, and vow to continue their fight.

"The sugar program is the most Soviet [style] centrally planned of all the agriculture programs," said Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian-leaning Washington think tank. "It really is astounding."

READ MORE ON THIS CRONYISM HERE!

Future of the Family Farm

I do not farm; neither does my family, but it just so happens that God has given me an incredible passion for farming families. You see, I live in Cove City, NC surrounded by cotton fields, tobacco crops, horse pastures and forestry. The beauty of it all is incredible, the peacefulness of watching what was sown, then grow and produce fruit, is so satisfying! To hear the knickers of the horses from my front porch, or the echo’s of cattle and donkey’s braying back and forth brings a smile to my face. To look out and see the red-tail hawks, the blue jays, cardinals and woodpeckers, to see an occasional deer, or even a bear reminds me that I am certainly not the center of the universe…… It is all of Creation, a blessing, to be able to live off of what we have been given.

I know these men and women who do work the land, I have seen the headlights from their tractors at wee hours in the middle of the night. I have seen as what they work on for months at a time come close to complete ruin in drought and extreme wet conditions and I have seen hurricanes completely decimate entire crops in a matter of hours.

Currently I see worry in the faces of these farmers, ones who have strived their entire lives to leave the farm for their children. As property taxes continue to increase on equipment and talk of the Present Use Value program changes heating up, we now have the inheritance tax issue’s that would destroy the family farm as we know it. All of this as continual regulation increases for products that can and can’t be used, places where farming is and isn't allowed due to zoning regulations and pricing of the commodities continually changing- sometimes not even allowing the farmer to recoup his cost of harvest! How can this way of living, one that each and every human being depends on, be in such turmoil?

Something most people do not realize is a reliance of military bases on agricultural land. Especially here in Eastern NC, we are surrounded by bases and used on flight paths for maneuvers, it is essential that farmland remain. In NC our #1 industry is Agriculture and our #2 is the MILITARY. These industries go hand in hand in support of one another. Yet, statistics tell us NC is the #1 state in LOSS of farmland.

This is happening due to several issues from what I have witnessed first hand

1) The median age of a farmer today is 58 years old. Family sizes are not what they used to be requiring farmers to hire additional help. If there is not a family member willing to take over the farm, it is more then likely sold.

2) The expense of starting a farming business is astronomical. If you were lucky enough to be born into a farming family you have a chance, but if not, the chances of you acquiring enough land, affording the extensive and expensive equipment, and having enough cash flow to begin are slim to none- and all this depending on surviving with good crops the first few years weather permitting!

3) Farming isn’t as attractive as the movies have made it out to be. It is a 365 day a year job, especially if you raise livestock. The hours are constant, and again the costs incredible…..not many people want to dedicate themselves to this way of life!

4) The expansion of residential areas and highways are continually encroaching on the family farm. While it seems good for whatever municipality to grow, the truth is the costs of services also increase tremendously to that particular area and it ends up in the form of taxation to all residents. While there was once a piece of land with crops that required no water/sewer/electrical hook ups, now new lines must be run for all utilities and manpower hired for additional housing management in the form of police officers, sheriff’s deputies, fire fighter’s, health and social workers and so on…..the bigger the population, the more services are needed. Not many realize that.

I do not have answers for these issues other then somehow our farms must be protected at all costs.

One last point that I would like to add…..I have heard out of people’s mouth’s that “farm subsidies and property taxation reductions on land are like farming welfare”. I beg to differ! When a farmer loses his entire crop to a disaster, we are all affected financially in the ability to purchase a necessity. They must have GOOD crop insurance to continue to be able to provide for the rest of our population. Please realize, farmers do not set the pricing for their products, the commodity market DOES. Many farmers today have seen their crops bring in less money then it costs to produce them. Again, without some form of subsidy many crops and farms would fall by the wayside costing us all more and eventually depleting the market. Also a farmer is not one who does not work, on the contrary! It is an extremely demanding and dangerous job that requires skill, knowledge and an incredible work ethic. The farmer knows they are responsible for feeding the masses, providing fibers for materials and forestry for everything from home building to diaper stuffing!

While the farm bill sits unattended to in Washington DC, all of this hangs in the balance! I do not agree with all that is in the bill, the Farm Bill and Food Stamps SHOULD NOT BE IN THE SAME BILL, Food stamps should be under HHS, (Health and Human Services), but that will have to be dealt with at a later date when our nation’s farms are not in such peril. If you care about food, I urge you to contact your US Senator and Representative personally.

God made Adam the first care-taker of the Garden of Eden. He was the first “farmer”. We have a responsibility to be good stewards with the land that has been provided. We should be helping our farmers provide to their full potential, we should be encouraging new farmers to get into the field, and we should be offering incentives that will benefit our entire population in the abundance of food, fiber and forestry. How terrible it would be to depend on other countries to grow OUR food. The import of oil surely hasn't worked out so good for us has it?!

Tyker Gonzales
Cove City, NC

Doggy glitter gets a share of farm bill billions

What does sparkly styling spray for dogs have to do with the 2012 farm bill?

It's among the thousands of products U.S. taxpayers are subsidizing through little-known programs that have been embedded in the farm legislation for decades and that lawmakers are now fighting to extinguish. The list of recipients of farm bill subsidies is long and sometimes laughable. There's money to study the healthfulness of peas and lentils. There are programs that support popcorn producers and winemakers. There's even a subsidy to encourage bird watching. "I know that mothers all over America, that have advocated for their children to eat their peas, will be pleased to know that there is a study that is going to cost them $25 million to study peas, lentils and garbanzo beans," Sen. John McCain deadpanned on the Senate floor last week.


CONTINUED:  http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/article/doggy-glitter-gel-gets-share-farm-bill-billio/604981?utm_source=WP%20TEMPLATE:%20Political%20Digest%20-%2006/18/2012&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Washington%20Examiner:%20Political%20Digest

A Message from Americans for Prosperity of NC

This week, the Senate will begin consideration of S. 3240, the massive farm bill that sets agriculture and food policy. Like its predecessors, the 2012 farm bill is shaping up to be nothing more than a big handout to agri-businesses.


This farm bill continues Washington’s reckless, runaway spending. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Senate farm bill will cost $969 billion over the next decade. We simply can’t afford to continue such out-of-control spending.

Although S. 3240 repeals some of the current price and income support programs, it replaces them with new programs that essentially do the same thing. Under the proposed “shallow-loss” program, Congress would guarantee that a crop producer’s revenues will never drop below 90% of the average revenues they received over the previous five years—a program that will be especially expensive given the high prices for commodities like corn and soy beans in recent years.

The bill also spends more on other subsidies. It provides unlimited funds for crop insurance, and it greatly expands funding for agricultural research and development.

The federal government should not be in the business of guaranteeing people’s income or providing lavish subsidies for agri-businesses. For a more on the Senate farm bill check out AFP’s recent letter of opposition.

And be sure to keep the heat on your representatives in Congress to cut wasteful farm subsidies!

AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY: POLICY ALERT--SUBSIDIES FOR BRAZIL?

It’s bad enough that the U.S. spends $3 billion every year on subsidies to prop up American cotton farmers. Such payments enrich agri-businesses at taxpayer expense, hurt consumers while causing cotton prices to rise, and stand in the way of free trade and the free market.


But did you know that the U.S. also spends nearly $150 million of your taxpayer dollars each year to pay off Brazilian cotton farmers? It’s all part of an absurd scheme detailed in our recent blog post: U.S. Pays Off Brazilian Cotton Farmers to Prop Up U.S. Cotton Industry

Special handouts to cotton farmers—both abroad and here at home—are just a few of several examples of wasteful subsidies that should be on the chopping block, and fortunately Congress will get a chance to take a swing at them summer.

Every five years Congress reauthorizes the various farm subsidies paid out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in one giant bill—a grab bag of handouts to big agri-businesses and special interests. Given that the last “Farm Bill” was enacted in 2008, debate over the next one will be heating up on Capitol Hill in the coming months.

Eliminating ill-conceived farm subsidies not only takes the government’s heavy hand out of our economy, but it can also save significant amounts of taxpayer money. One proposal by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) would cut back on these special handouts and save $136 billion over the next decade, all while maintaining a safety net for farmers.

Whether it’s in “green” energy or in agriculture, picking winners and losers has never proven to be a wise use of taxpayer dollars. Keep an eye on Congress as they debate the Farm Bill this year—voices like yours demanding an end to wasteful subsidies could make a huge difference.

Americans for Prosperity® (AFP) is a nationwide organization of citizen leaders committed to advancing every individual's right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best safeguard to ensuring individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and returning government to its constitutional limits. AFP has more than 2 million members, including members in all 50 states, and 34 state chapters and affiliates. More than 90,000 Americans in all 50 states have made a financial investment in AFP or AFP Foundation. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org