Project Logic Ga

The Congress passes a Farm Bill every five or so years that authorizes the United States Department of Agriculture programs.  Most people’s eyes glaze over from boredom when a rural congressman is on the TV talking about crops and cows.  The Farm Bill should be of interest to one group of people: eaters.  There is a saying that “if you eat, you are involved in agriculture.”  Yes, everyone eats and a safe and affordable food supply shouldn’t be taken for granted.  If you forget the “touch, the feel” of natural cotton, you should ask someone over 50 years of age about disco dancing in polyester and other synthetic materials.

Consider this: the local school system is funded in part by property taxes.  In rural areas, property value of farm land is tied to Farm Bill programs.  Without that farm land tax revenue, the schools would be severely underfunded.  So, we should be patient when a combine tractor is slowing traffic on a country road.  Farming was always a battle for minorities in America and severely harsh in the South.  USDA traditionally didn’t help Black farm operations but after some costly class action lawsuits there are provisions of the Farm Bill that support socially disadvantage farmers and veteran farmers.

From seed to fork, we should thank everyone involved in the food supply chain: farmers, ranchers, fishermen, foragers, food processors, produce pickers, truck drivers and the grocery store stockers.  A glance at a few parts of the Farm Bill will give you a new prospective on the importance of agriculture in various aspects of our lives.  The 2019 Farm Bill covered $867 billion.  Agriculture is actually Georgia’s biggest industry.   Remember, deboning chicken in poultry plants is also a vital ag job in many communities.

Commodities:  The heart of the Farm Bill would be the programs that support and promote cotton, wheat, corn, rice and soybeans as staple crops as well as other fruits, vegetables, dairy, meats and aquaculture.  The USDA and Congress work with farm industry groups and other stakeholders to determine what if any policies help them.  While only one percent of Americans work in farming, modern machinery and technology could produce too much food and flood the market.  A balance must be created to keep supplies up but not drive prices for farmers down.

Food and Nutrition: Urban members of Congress support the Farm Bill because food programs like SNAP (formerly called Food Stamps), WIC, the School Lunch program and the Surplus Commodities programs are win/win.  Needy families receive food assistance and farmers have the federal government as a market.  The ripple effect is significant: kids can’t learn at school if they are hungry; undernourished children have expensive health problems and kids developing healthy eating habits is important.  At times, the USDA restricts food production while Americans are hungry.  Of course, the economic aspects of food production are complex and complicated but we should all stay informed on these matters.  In the riches countries in the world, people shouldn’t be hungry and farmers shouldn’t be struggling.

Trade: If the American farmer can produce more food, they welcome the opportunity to sell overseas to feed the world because Americans can’t consume all of the bounty that is produced.  Of course, federal farm policy isn’t all USDA and trade requires involvement from the U.S. Trade Representative and Commerce Department.

Foreign Aid/Affairs:  Agriculture gets exciting when you think that our farmers could change the world as much as our troops.  Farmers could ease war and conflict with bread rather than bullets in some situations.  Starving people need our corn, wheat and even peanut paste.  But long term, the research colleges and universities funded by the Farm Bill could teach North Africans better farm practices to avoid ruining their topsoil.  With better topsoil, drought would not devastate the region and thousands of refugees wouldn’t be pouring into an unwelcoming Europe.

Can our farm technology help Latin America develop better crops to trade, stabilize their nations and stem the flood of refugees at our southern border?  While we are at it, South America and Southeast Asia need new cash crops with our assistance because their drug related crops are killing us.

Rural Development: The federal government puts most of urban development under HUD and rural development under USDA.  The president and the secretary of agriculture could creatively consider almost anything to be rural development.  Rural housing, economic development, broadband internet, rural hospitals, community facilities and water and sewer infrastructure fall under this section.  Residents in America’s biggest cities should love rural development because urban sprawl is a beast.  Everyone can’t live in the city and city people often dream about retiring to their rural hometowns for a quiet life near family and friends.  USDA Rural Development across the South was ready when the film industry came looking for new locations.

Research: The Farm Bill promotes research on college campuses and research in the agriculture industry that makes better seeds, less chemicals and higher yields.  Ag scientists are reducing are dependence on fossil fuels by turning wheat straw, peanut shells, used cooking oil and even algae into fuel.   The research and extension services carried out at our land grant colleges and university are why Americans pay the lowest percentage of their income for food than any nation on the globe.

Conservation:  The agriculture industry must be good stewards of clean air, water and land.  The chemicals used in production don’t need to appear in the water supply or in foods.  Trees and grasslands are essential in photosynthesis and everyone likes breathing.

Summary: The 2018 Farm Bill or Law is nearly 1000 pages and therefore not easily summarized.  But, the programs the Farm Bill authorizes touch all of us.  We should also remember from high school government class that authorization of programs is “checked and balanced” by annual appropriations.  The process is similar to a small business having an operations manager who decides a new truck is needed, a budget manager checking to see if funds are in the budget and still another manager cutting the actual check.  All eaters should monitor every future Farm Bill.