How does the U.S. government protect our agriculture, i.e. farms and farmers? How good a job is it doing?

Question

How does the U.S. government protect our agriculture, i.e. farms and farmers? How good a job is it doing?

Answer 1

Right now, the government is doing a really good job protecting our farmers, they are buying the farmers corn to make fuel! ethanol!

Answer 2

They don't. The New World Order will commandere all agricultural land and provide us with genetically altered food. Go to www.prisonplanet.com to get more info.

Answer 3

The government doesn't protect our farmland enough.  All they can do is keep adding laws to undermine the small growers.

Answer 4

It's not. It protects corporate agriculture...but as far as farms and farming laws are being attempted to be put through that will end many farms. NAIS spells doom for small farmers due to costs that they aren't saying what they are because no one knows. Consumers don't care but are starting to get a glimpse of milk prices - now controlled by the government and competition from small farmers is eliminated due to it being illegal to buy raw milk direct from the farmer in many states.

If people want to insure being able to buy food unaltered by the government be contacting senators and legislators on a state and federal level.

Answer 5

They do nothing to protect agriculture.  They are doing a terrible job.  American agriculture is blamed for the costs of the United States Department of Agriculture while a majority of those expenditures are actually Consumer subsidies.  Food stamps, The WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program, School lunches, Packing Plant Inspections,  Pesticide regulations by FDA, etc. are all programs to subsidize consumers or to ensure a safe food supply.  None of them are for the benefit of farmers.  Agriculture has made great strides in efficiency.  At the beginning of the 20th Century almost half of our population was involved in farming.  At the beginning of the 21st Century less than 2% of our population was involved in farming and many farm families relied on off farm income to make ends meet.  With confiscatory tax policies, particularly the tax on capital gains many family farms are sold just to meet the tax burden of government caused inflation.  You might look at all the screaming going on because we are using corn to produce ethanol.

There are no valid programs to ensure that we have a continuing viable agricultural industry.  The research that is conducted is primarily to increase production with little regard for quality.  The additional production normallly just lowers the price of the commodity to the consumer.

Answer 6

The only protection offered is that of crop insurance and that is not affiliated with the government. There is some minor protection afforded by our import and export regulations, as well as the laws regarding the use of chemicals, the environment, and labeling of products (especially organically grown) but that is hardly protection, and NAFTA in respect to agro products has been a real issue for the US farmer who has to compete with a country who has lower labor cost and longer/ tropical seasons. If not for the higher standards maintained by farmers and to a point imposed by laws and regulation, as well as the US ability to produce a quality product (for many reasons) the US farmer would have more problems than they have currently. The edge is that the US grower holds to a standard that the consumer can count on. When a Canadian grower or Mexican grower maintains a quality standard then the product is embraced regardless. The strict laws in place protect the consumer who is very price conscious and because of those laws can have faith in the product regardless of origin. So the laws that may favor the US farmer may not necessarily be an advantage. With respect to exports the US sends to Europe, there seems to be more advantage afforded the US grower.

Answer 7

The US Government doesn't protect our agriculture, any more than they do our borders.  I hate to say it, but the USDA is so short handed that they can barely check out all the commerical animal farms.  What they need is more inspectors.