LANDOWNER RESOURCES_Farm Programs

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Farm Programs

Federal farm programs have bolstered U.S. farming profits for more than seventy years. Farm programs have included mandatory price supports for specified commodities, direct subsidy payments to farmers, and supply controls. Though once considered temporary and supplementary to farm sector earnings, government farm program payments are increasingly viewed as permanent and of major importance.

Farm program payments represented some 30%-40% of farmland values from 1938 to 1980, according to research by Shaik, Helmers and Atwood. More recently, high commodity prices have been the driving force behind agricultural land values, thanks to strong demand from corn-based ethanol and growing demand for agricultural commodities from developing economies such as China and India. For further insight into the regional influence of farm program payments, read Government Program Payments and Non-Agricultural Returns Affect Land Values (9/10) by Kastens & Dhuyvetter, Kansas State Univ.

Farm program supports are mandated by the Farm Bill, a multi-year, multi-commodity federal support law. Permanent laws such as the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 and

Agricultural Act of 1949 provide standing authority for these programs. However, Congress usually updates farm program provisions every five years.

The following links explain the most significant farm program support programs and include links to program statistics.

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2008 Farm Bill

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  • Government Program Payments and Non-agricultural Returns Affect Land Values 9/10 (Kansas State Univ.)
  • Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
  • 2008 Farm Bill Fact Sheets, Legislation Links
  • Whole-Farm Crop Disaster Program: Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) 12/10 (Congressional Research Svc.)
  • Conservation Practices and Programs for Your Land: 2008 Farm Bill
  • Conservation Reserve Program Summary
  • Payment Summary for Active Conservation Reserve Program Contracts by Program Year
  • Conservation Program Statistics
  • Average Conservation Reserve Program Payments by County
  • Grassland Reserve Program Summary
  • Farm Loan Programs
  • Renewable Energy Programs in the 2008 Farm Bill 12/10 (Congressional Research Svc.)

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2012 Farm Bill

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  • Farm Safety Net Proposals for the 2012 Farm Bill 10/6/11 (Congressional Research Service)
  • 2/17/11 - Public hearing to review the state of the farm economy (Statement of USDA Secy. Thomas Vilsack before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture)
  • What is the Farm Bill? 12/10 (Congressional Research Svc.)
  • Farm Safety Net Programs: Issues for the Next Farm Bill 9/10 (Congressional Research Svc.)
  • Review of U.S. Agricultural Policy in Advance of the 2012 Farm Bill 5/10 (Daryll E. Ray, Univ. of Tenn.)

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