Farm Bill passes without subsidy caps

The US Senate passed the Farm Bill on Friday with no new subsidy reform measures. The widely discussed Dorgon-Grassley Payment Limit Reform Amendment failed 56-43 because it needed 60 votes to pass. The amendment would have capped subsidies to commodity growers of corn, wheat, rice and soy at $250,000 per producer. The subsidies in question accounted for $34 billion from 2003 to 2005 and went mostly to large farms in the Midwest that run under corporate contract to produce grains for animal feed.

Rhode Island Senators Reed and Whitehouse, both voted for the Payment Limit amendment. RI farms mainly produce fruits and veggies and so see little benefit from the billions of dollars spent on the subsidy program. In fact, RI ranks #49 (ahead of Hawaii and Washington DC) for total dollars that come back to the state. The RI dairy and livestock farms that do benefit are family-run, and so their small operations would not be affected by a subsidy cap.

The big picture: the types of farms and foods we subsidize in the Farm Bill determines what we’ll be eating for dinner for the next 5 years, as well as the prevalence of diet-related public health issues and the condition of our land and water for years to come.