The Iowa Farm Bureau "wants to end the fixed annual payments that have been a central part of farm policy since 1996 and use the savings to enhance programs that protect farmers against drops in revenue" according to the Des Moines Register.
The fixed annual payments have "become a target of critics who says that farmers shouldn't be getting government checks when they're harvesting bumper crops and commodity prices are at historically high levels." The Iowa group's vote will push this issue to the "forefront" of the American Farm Bureau Federation when it meets to review its policies in January.
John Anderson, an economist with the American Farm Bureau, said that the "direct payments are more important on some crops than others in terms of the contribution they make to income."
To read the FarmPolicy.com post, click here.
To read the Des Moines Register story, click here.
Posted: 09/13/2010
