Way More than Just a 'Farm' Bill

By Henry Gantz|April 14, 2009

I got into Netflix a while back. When I was married and my children were growing up, I didn’t miss many of the first-run movies. Then I got divorced and my kids reached that age where they’d rather go to a movie with a werewolf than with me. But I’ve been catching up, and Netflix is the perfect way to do it.

Before getting back on subject, here’s a trivia question: Who played the teenage werewolf in “I was a Teenage Werewolf?” Answer: Michael “Little Joe” Landon. That’s right. Michael “Highway to Heaven” Landon. Well, you’ve got to start somewhere, right?

But listening to Netflix’s radio advertising is like chewing tinfoil. Here’s an example based on a Jeopardy-like quiz show.

Question: If Jack and Jill went up the hill, then where is Fred?

Answer: Milwaukee!

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See? Not funny. Annoying. But memorable. So here’s mine for you today.

Question: If a picture says a thousand words, what does a chart say?

Answer: What is the highest percentage outlay in the 2008 Farm Bill!

“Just remember the farm bill is not just a farm bill. The farm bill is also a nutrition bill,” said National Cotton Council Senior Vice President John Maguire at the Plains Cotton Growers’ Annual Meeting in Lubbock, TX, on April 3.

It sure is, with nearly three-quarters of the farm-bill expenditures going to food stamps and other nutrition programs. Understand I don’t begrudge anyone receiving nutrition assistance if they are trying their best to eat and can’t. By the same token, I don’t begrudge American farmers receiving less than 10% of the farm bill expenditures trying to play on a field that is far from level..

This is the third out of four consecutive columns I’ve written on the farm bill but conditions just keep getting worse after each one. Our fiscal year 2010 deficit has grown to $1.4 trillion; our projected national debt will reach $8 trillion by 2014.

Yet according to Maguire’s numbers, as of March 31 total expenditures for the initial rescue package, the bail out of AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, various stimulus packages, et al, comes to nearly $5 trillion.

The Commodity Credit Corporation’s total outlays over 10 years as a percentage of the annual federal budget is 0.4%. That’s not 4%. That’s less than one-half of one-percent.

Not funny. Annoying. But memorable. (I wish.)

Last week’s poll asked you if you thought the USDA cotton planting intentions report of 8.81 million acres was too low, too high, or about right. Click here for the results.

Gantz is the editor of Cotton Grower magazine. Over the years, he has won many National Agricultural Marketing Association awards, including two national NAMAs – one in advertising and one in public relations. Gantz brings hands-on experience, having worked as Sales Manager for an agricultural supply distributor in the Mississippi Delta. See all author stories here.

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Anonymous says:

September 26, 2011 at 3:09 pm

The major problem with the farm bill is the publics persption of it. They think that the majority of the money is being given to fat cat farmers. I do not know how we can clear this up since most of the media feels the same way. We in the ag. industry need to do a better job of educating the public even if we are not as flamboyant as peta and the rest of the left wing groups.

1. There are more people working for the USDA than there are farmers. FACT.
2. People are receiving “food stamps” that could go get a job, but wont because they have NO REASON to, thanks to the Federal Government.
3. It sickens me that less than 1/2 of 1% of the “funds” are for agriculture support, and people bitch about farmers just getting richer off the federal government.GIVE ME A BREAK.

December 22, 2011 at 1:34 am