The
Farm Bill as we know it is a piece of legislation that is re-visited every 5 or so years.
In this bill, there are many facets.
President Barack Obama called it a Swiss army knife. Like the knife, the bill has a lot in
it. There is legislation about conservation,
infrastructure, jobs, health and nutrition. In a document published by the White House, there is a list of 5 ways
the Farm bill will help the economy. The
reasons are stated as follows.
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| whitehouse.gov |
Although the farm bill comes under a title relating
to agriculture there are many things that are not ion direct correlation with
farms. For example, over 70% of the
nearly 480 billion dollar budget, is used for "nutrition" or welfare
assistance. That is a pretty big chunk
of the pie. Very little actually ends up in the farmers hands. The list of ways the farm bill strengthens
our economy may be a little ambiguous but this farm bill really can have an
impact on many people. With nutrition
and welfare aside there is another category that has a large reach. The subsidies
to farmers to help offset the price of products in the market. For example the subsidies for dairy farmers. This Farm Bill will provide protection against
the oversupply of milk in the market. If
there was a supply influx, it would force the farmers to sell at unreasonable
losses. With this protection, dairy
farmers are covered by limiting their production to help protect prices. This will be good for supply and demand. Many of the farmers are in favor of this type
of legislation but there is sum resistance in some farmers.
"Here's How a
Comprehensive Farm Bill Goes Way Beyond Our Farms:." The White House.
The White House, 7 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
SUOZZO, ANDREA.
"Long-fought Farm Bill Substitutes Dairy Subsidy Program with Insurance -
VTDigger." VTDigger. 16 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
