<![CDATA[Grist - Comment Feed for Where farm subsidies came from, and why they’re still here]]> Grist Comment Feed en Comment #1 by bkrell http://www.grist.org/article/farm_bill2/ Tue, 30 Jan 2007 04:24:11 -0800 http://www.grist.org/article/farm_bill2/1 But what about....

The USDA's Wetland Reserve Program.  I personally know many "farmers" buying up land at cheap prices then getting good money from the USDA to let it sit idle as a wetland.  It's a subsidy!  I think it's great but there aren't enough strings attached.

]]> But what about....

The USDA's Wetland Reserve Program.  I personally know many "farmers" buying up land at cheap prices then getting good money from the USDA to let it sit idle as a wetland.  It's a subsidy!  I think it's great but there aren't enough strings attached.

]]> Comment #2 by pubwvj http://www.grist.org/article/farm_bill2/ Sun, 04 Feb 2007 02:39:34 -0800 http://www.grist.org/article/farm_bill2/2 We don't need subsidies

We don't need subsidies. We need a reasonable environment and economy that encourages farming and individual self-sufficiency. I'm not talking about "survivalism", I'm talking about people having gardens, chickens, a summer pig, etc. What has happened with urbanization is that people have become too disconnected from their sources of food.

One problem with the subsidies is the hurt the unsubsidized farmers like moi. Big-ag can devote the dollars and hired guns to get their "share" of the subsidies racking up big profits from them. Small and Micro-farmers, who are your local producers selling at farmers market and direct to consumers, are then faced with fighting against a subsidized product in the market place. I say eliminate all of the subsidies.

However, there is another issue that hurts small farmers even more and that is the real estate valuation and over taxation. That's turning cropland into condos at an ever increasing rate. Pretty soon you'll have plentiful places to live but nothing to eat.

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs & Sheep
in Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/





]]> We don't need subsidies

We don't need subsidies. We need a reasonable environment and economy that encourages farming and individual self-sufficiency. I'm not talking about "survivalism", I'm talking about people having gardens, chickens, a summer pig, etc. What has happened with urbanization is that people have become too disconnected from their sources of food.

One problem with the subsidies is the hurt the unsubsidized farmers like moi. Big-ag can devote the dollars and hired guns to get their "share" of the subsidies racking up big profits from them. Small and Micro-farmers, who are your local producers selling at farmers market and direct to consumers, are then faced with fighting against a subsidized product in the market place. I say eliminate all of the subsidies.

However, there is another issue that hurts small farmers even more and that is the real estate valuation and over taxation. That's turning cropland into condos at an ever increasing rate. Pretty soon you'll have plentiful places to live but nothing to eat.

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs & Sheep
in Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/





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