FARM BILL HURTS FARMERS, US

The Congress has finally passed the 2007 Farm Bill. Why should we
non-farmers care? Because we are taxpayers, citizens and consumers.

We picture farmers as hard-working, independent individualists, taking
chances on the weather, the markets and luck. Back in the Depression,
there was a "temporary" law passed to help only the poorest family
farmers. It has been renewed until it has become the federal
government's largest corporate welfare scheme, while squeezing out
family farms by favoring big commercial ones -- the ones with political
clout.

What does this congressional cornucopia cost? For each household,
about $320 a year in taxes ($25 billion total) and higher food prices
($12 billion total) -- above the already inflated prices. In addition,
other countries retaliate against subsidies and some of our
agricultural products are blocked from global trade.

The current Farm Bill subsidizes an arbitrarily chosen section of the
economy at our expense. It includes tax breaks for racehorse owners,
"marketing aid" for fruit and vegetable growers, research funding for
organic farmers, enhanced price supports for sugar producers,
increased subsidies for dairy farmers and a $170 million earmark for
the salmon industry. The bill continues the price supports and ethanol
subsidies that contribute to food price inflation while boosting
spending on food stamps. It even requires the government to protect
domestic sugar producers by buying imported sugar and selling it at a
loss to ethanol refiners!

Small farmers are harmed by farm subsidies. They are excluded from
most subsidies and must endure lower crop prices, higher farmland
costs and industry consolidation that result from subsidies to
agribusiness. Every five years, Congress promises to reform the
system, but they just can't help themselves. Rep. Dave Obey recently
said, "I reluctantly voted for it because it is better than existing
law for farmers and better than existing law for taxpayers." Some
improvement!

We need to get the feds out of the pork business and let American
farmers farm -- no promises, no interference. One crop might be
industrial hemp. Wisconsin was the leading industrial hemp producer in
the country during the first half of the 20th century -- and then the
government decided hemp looks too much like marijuana.

The first American flags were made of hemp; both Washington and
Jefferson raised hemp; Ben Franklin printed publications on hemp
paper; American ships were caulked and rigged with hemp; and hemp
played an important role in both world wars.

Hemp has thousands of uses. Besides fibers for paper and textiles, it
can be used for biodegradable plastics, health food and fuel. Hemp
requires little to no pesticides, replenishes soil with nutrients and
nitrogen, controls erosion of the topsoil and produces a lot of
oxygen. The downside? Our government prohibits its use.

These government policies, besides being unconstitutional, favor
certain special interests at our expense, thanks to our bipartisan
Congress.