To the majority of people the US Farm Bill means nothing. Well maybe it means Government spending at its worst, because they do not understand its value. To someone like Dave and I, who yes do not farm our wheat property in Texas, but Dave, who grew up on a couple thousand acre dryland wheat ranch in Wasco, Or, growing soft white wheat which was bought by Mission for noodles, know its full impact. First I was always surprised the Food Stamp program is wrapped up in the US Farm Bill. Seems the wrong place for it. Slashing the $8 billion or so they are cutting seems right, but cutting the direct payments the USDA makes to those who run family farms does not. Everyone buying their noodles, bread, doughnuts, baked goods, or any US farm product, is so out of touch with the costs of crop insurance, taxes, seed, water, diesel, manpower (we have our cousins farm our piece along with all of the other ground they farm). There are so many costs that go into farming people have no idea of. Then even though the farmer has paid those costs there is never any assurance they will even make a dime above what was put in, and more often than not at the hands of Mother Nature they loose money year after year after year, which is why so many family farms go under and huge Government owned farms take over, or even worse as in the area in Texas where our property is another country comes in and takes the land and raises things their way as in Japan who has snapped up so much of the property where we are. Those USDA payments were so small anyway they never came close to recovering the outlay a farmer has. Dave and I do not talk much about the farming operation in Texas, the costs. We always joked about it because it is always money going out with very seldom any coming in, but it is family. It is family farming growing a healthy product for Americans. It is not made in China, but with the way the government and people who just do not know making decisions that continue to cut into the family farming operations there is no where to go. This 950 page bill was agreed upon by the negotiators Monday evening and will be voted on Wednesday morning. Really? Does anyone really think they will read the 950 pages in this very short period of time? Does anyone get it that this is just another step to kick American families off their farms? People are so out of touch with where their food comes from, and conversely where it could or should come from but our voting pressure keeps kicking Americans off their farms, and creating a market for the unhealthy foods we import. Thanks Americans. We feel your lack of support for trying to do what is right here. Carol and Dave Pshigoda
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 21:11:43 +0000
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