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FY08 Budget Hurts Farmers

President Bush’s budget proposal threatens the livelihoods of family farmers, ranchers and rural America by spending more than $30 billion less than was approved as part of the 2002 Farm Bill.

The 2002 Farm Bill has been a good piece of legislation, saving $23 billion due to its reliance on a safety net that only paid producers when prices were low. Now, in addition to removing this $23 billion from agriculture spending, the administration has proposed an additional cut of $9.4 billion.

Adding insult to injury was Secretary Johann’s recent 2007 Farm Bill proposal to rely on decoupled payments – paying farmers, regardless of the price at the marketplace, instead of relying on the counter-cyclical approach that saved so much. We’ve been there before and know that it won’t work.

Tags 107th United States Congress Business Farm Security and Rural Investment Act Food, Conservation, and Energy Act Government Law Person Career Politics Social Issues United States United States Department of Agriculture

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