Farm Subsidies: Their impact on the country and the enviro

Farming has been a mainstay of not only American lifestyle, but throughout society as a whole. Farming has always been thought of as back breaking work, and not the typical nine to five job, nor as profitable as a white collar job on Wall Street, however, the money involved in farming is quite tremendous. Most farmers have struggled feverishly to keep their farms sustainable and their families fed. Agriculture was at one time a thriving business. In 1916 there were 32,530,000 people living on farms in the U.S. (Reische 51) This was the most at any time in the industry. During the early 1900’s farming was a way of life, and many farmers were making a large profit even though the Great Depression was looming. In the 1920’s there were major developments in agricultural technology. Machinery was brought into the picture and productivity increased, however the machinery was very expensive for the small farmer, and it caused a reduction in labor needs on farms as laborers were drawn to the cities for work. (Long 85) Nonetheless food demand remained high, and food prices remained low due to the advancement. However, small farmers could not afford the expens

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(Patterson 129) The Farm Bill of 1973 also lowered aid to farmers by decreasing the target income for the price supports. For example, if the farmer gets a yearly income of $60000 or less, then they would get the most amount of money available from subsidies. In the early 1990’s subsidy payments averaged $9 billion per year. This is controlled through a risk assessment of the products and an analysis of Potentially Toxic Elements (PTE) to rule out contamination before the fertilizer can be used. This organization provides information to environmental agencies. (Merrilees & McKnight) This regulation ensures farmers are not misusing the material, and that it is not contributing to harmful pollution. The things to consider are herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, and livestock manure. Subsidizing farmers is not a problem if it is the small farmer that is being helped. As a result Congress passed price support legislation to help offset farmer losses and to ensure a profit to the farmers. 5 billion emergency bill to help farmers, which ultimately cost the taxpayer. Instead subsidies reached an all time high due to supplemental spending bills. Turner, because he took his subsidy money and gave it to charity, and implemented environmental practices on all of his land. New Mexico has developed a program within EQIP to be used locally. One way would be to make an income cap on the farmer. Throughout most developed nations there are strict regulations on farming and the impact they have on the environment.

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Approximate Word count = 2473
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)

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