Vabs: I own and lease farmland in South Dakota. Farmers are regularly in a no-win situation. They borrow heavily on equipment, seed, etc., betting heavily that when crop season comes around, they aren't devastated by weather, poor yields, high fuel prices - and low prices for their efforts. Many of them have everything they have in hoc for the entire year. These people work HARD and none of them have ever made themselves rich doing it. For example, this year: The yields were pretty good, but because of that the crop prices are low (simple supply/demand), and there is corn piled up on the GROUND because it's not worth selling - which sometimes encourages them to plant even MORE the next year in order to try and keep up. Given that, the world population is still growing and needs to be fed - and we have to land, skill, talent and resources to do it. I don't believe heavily in subsidies, however, we DO need SOME vehicle to soften the wide up/down swings so that there are actually people out there to grow our food when we need it.
Lastly, in full disclosure, I DO receive SOME federal subsidies myself - I planted trees and am paid to keep some land OUT of farming for conservation purposes - but I had to pay for the trees UP FRONT, and the gov't reimburses me over a 6-year period for that cost. Did I get rich over it? Heck no.
Lastly, in full disclosure, I DO receive SOME federal subsidies myself - I planted trees and am paid to keep some land OUT of farming for conservation purposes - but I had to pay for the trees UP FRONT, and the gov't reimburses me over a 6-year period for that cost. Did I get rich over it? Heck no.
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