Move farms off the dole

Subsidies are going to large, wealthy farms and distorting global markets. Congress can change that.

from the April 16, 2007 edition

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Meanwhile, groups outside the traditional agriculture lobby are pressing for change. Growers of fruits, vegetables, and nuts – i.e., the folks who don't get subsidies – are arguing for equal treatment. Environmentalists are demanding a greater emphasis on conservation. Latinos, the fastest-growing group of new farmers, are mobilizing.

Pressure is coming from outside the US, too. Agricultural disputes over subsidies between the US, the European Union, and other countries have stalled the crucial Doha international trade talks. The US share of agriculture exports is declining.

The US needs access to markets. The way to encourage other countries to reduce subsidies is to take such steps in the US. If Congress fails to do so, it will face piecemeal reform through the World Trade Organization, where the US lost a case over cotton subsidies to Brazil in 2004.

Congress has a good place to start in the Bush administration's proposed 2007 farm bill. It moves in the right directions: cutting subsidies, spending more on conservation, encouraging renewable fuels, and assisting small farms and young farmers. One of its most promising ideas is to shift part of the farm "safety net" from price-related subsidies (which distort markets) to less distorting income supports. It would eliminate subsidies for farmers earning more than $200,000 – taking about 80,000 farmers off the agri-welfare roles.

Some suggest this is the year for Congress to do for agriculture what it did for welfare reform in 1996. The reasons are there, if it can find the courage to stand up for them.

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