THINKING ON THE FARM BILL

First, before one can even consider what the so-called Farm Bill budget is, one MUST peel off the major % - which goes to food stamps and school lunch programs. This portion should then be moved over into the welfare budget with the header: “Meals Program.” Now with numbers you can really break out and study, you’ll find hidden in the Farm Bill budget things (in addition to food stamps and lunch programs) – that have absolutely nothing to do with farming; things like Conservation Easements, Land Trusts, chronic entertaining of mandates such as NAIS, and regulation making with other agencies including DOI, DOE, NEA, DHHS, NOAA, Trade, FDA, EPA, and government subsidized organizations including the Nature Conservancy. After paring off each dollar that doesn’t go directly to “a farm,” you’ll learn that very little goes directly to “a farm” for boots on the ground Agricultural production. Now, you need to understand why what’s left does go to “a farm;” and that is to somewhat level the playing field between Mother Nature, volatile commodity markets and errant government employees in order that you – the consumer - won’t have to spend more than 8% of your discretionary income on steady, safe supplies of delicious locally grown food. There are many reasons why your food costs are rising, including the errant government employees choosing to subsidize alternative energy like ethanol, unfair trade practices, and the before-mentioned unnecessary, damaging regulations. Having little to do with food safety, these regulations are moreover made to diminish food production on American soil. Why? Government needs America’s land and water to collateralize loans from China (as one example). Some government employees have no compunction about leaving you- the consumer- at the mercy of un-friendly nations for food grown under the most un-sanitary conditions imaginable. With the demand for “Farmers Markets,” one would think government employees would be smart enough to do everything legal to ensure enough Agriculture Production land and water is left intact for the purpose of fulfilling this consumer demand, for it’s a given we cannot produce enough to feed the world from window sill gardens. As a consumer, I personally take every measure physically, financially and mentally possible, to educate people on these matters. It’s important! There’s a situation un-folding in Colorado today that illustrates where government and court decisions contribute towards the ruination of Ag production. You see some smart but evil people figured ways to manipulate water (rivers and aquifers) in order to fill ponds and reservoirs for urban development. They did so without honoring rights of beneficial water users. Now we have non-historic/man-made flooding on the South Platte Basin to such magnitude it’s destroying thousands of production acres, homes and waste treatment plants. And believe it! Government claims it doesn’t have the money to stop the flooding, initiate clean up, and restore the properties. Now if there’s ever a time Ag should be “subsidized,” one would think this is it! We have thousands of ill-informed people who un-wittingly participate in lies and alarmism generated by those engaged in shutting down America’s Ag Production. There’s lots of work to do providing truth and facts that will show the reality consequences of wrongful actions. After all, it’ll be smart consumers who will ultimately protect domestic Ag Production… to the extent Americans will never be vulnerable to un-friendly nations.