They paid my dad to not grow wheat back in the 1950's. It wasn't much, but since my dad had a full-time job and no plans to grow wheat on the old farm, the whole deal seemed absurd. Instead he turned the farm into timberland 50 years ago, but I still get letters from the Farm Bureau telling me about all of the government agricultural program money that is available if just jump through the hoops. It was originally conceived decades ago to keep commodity prices high enough to be profitable for small farmers by limiting the acreage in production. But it has morphed into an agency whose mission is to give away tax dollars to farmers, many of which are corporations. I cannot see how a program that encourages a landowner to NOT make his land productive helps us anymore.
I agree with all of this, except that I think the oil depletion allowance is a racket that made millionaires into billionaires that support politicians. Unless, of course, if they strike oil on my property.
We have a timber company over here behind the levee. It has some of the best turkey, duck, and deer hunting in the state. If you want to get hired it'll cost you $135,000 to buy in then $10,000 or more a year to stay in. And your cabin has to be nice. One of them looks like Graceland.
I could argue for or against government subsides to farmers, but this is not good beyond paying someone to essentially do nothing. First, they are paying way too much, making the choice obvious. I know the Delta is some of the most productive farm land in the country, but are there any farms that net even $300 an acre? If they were to be offered only $100 not to plant, some would buy into the program while others would plant. What is wrong with that? Nothing, except the government is incapable of predicting or controlling the acreage set aside. Kinda hard to offer a farmer more than he could make busting his ass and have him say, "No I don't want your money. I have my own that I am going to spend locally to put people to work to plant food to feed this country, all while supporting other local businesses that are needed for me to do so."
Sure, but prices are volatile. Cotton drew $750/acre a few years ago, but it could be $450 this year. Or less.
Growing cotton isn't cheap. I still doubt the farmer that plants can put more money in his pocket at the end of the year. Throw in the potential to lose even more due to a volatile market, who would plant given an incentive not to?
Well, most farmers plant, so there is definitely a profit motive. I think many of the farmers who take advantage of this program have small acreage and poor soil and probably don't need to be in the farming business anyway. Many small farmers have started pine tree plantations or run cattle in the fields, now used as pastures, instead of accepting the subsidy.
At this point it is just the way business is done. No major economic development happens project happens without government money. As a nation we are competing against other countries, our state is competing against other states, and the city you live in is competign against other jurisdictions within your state and in other states. Most of these programs are terrible, but they are just part of the landscape now.
The farmers around here had a record crop season. Even though they got in the fields late they racked up. I have a lot of friends that farm and they have all told me they made big money. Beans and corn harvest damn near hit record harvests. Diesel and fertilizer hit them pretty good but they got rain and sun when they needed it. Some headed to Canada for ducks, geese, and deer. Others headed west to Texas and a few chose the coast for fishing. My friend Berry farms 400 acres. After his bills are paid he still clears $60,000+ a year. It takes him a week to disk and spray. 1 week to plant his beans. He waits till they make a stand and sprays again. When it's time to harvest he's in and out of the field in a week. The rest of the time he sits in his truck watching traffic drive by. He's the most boring person I know. Not sure if he gets subsidies or not.
