The Farm Bill - Overview Video

What is the Farm Bill? Why is it important to you? Watch this animated short on the basics and importance of the Farm Bill - America's most important farm and food legislation. From the farmers that grow the food, to the land they steward, to the consumers who eat the food, we all benefits from the Farm Bill.

[@FireweedFarm]

The core of the farm bill is the market management of the Commodity Title, and these market impacts are not government spending, and are bigger than all the rest of the farm bill combined. The reason for the farm bill is that free markets chronically fail for agriculture on both supply (farmers) and demand (consumers) sides. In this core sense, (the reason why the farm bill was invented,) the farm bill is not about government spending, but rather features (1.) minimum Price Floors, (similar in principle to minimum wage, and originally set at "living wage" or "parity" levels,) backed up by (2.) supply reductions, as needed to balance supply and demand to prevent the chronic low prices that come from free markets. (3.) Top side Price Ceilings protect consumers, the poor, industry and livestock farmers, and are backed up by (4.) stored reserve supplies, to be placed not he market to prevent price spikes from shortages. Tragically, these programs were all reduced drastically, from 1953-1995, and then ended. The negative impacts on farmers and in favor of agribusiness have been in the trillions. All food is subsidized by farmers beyond any farm subsidies. Subsidies aren't needed in a good farm bill, and farmers have always received much less with "safety net" subsidies. The 2014 and 2018 "farm bills" are the worst in history. NFU's "Market Driven Inventory System" is a proposal to restore a just real farm bill, as is a new, even better proposal from Texas Farmers Union, and Wisconsin Farmers Union is a key leader to restore similar programs for dairy. See my playlist, Farm Bill History.

[@FarmerCee]

I think this misses it for some of us farmers.