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From: FarmPolicy.com Oct. 11, 2006

Farm Bill Debate Developments

Dan Chapman, writing earlier this week at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that, "Stephen Houston Jr. borrowed a suitcase from his mother and a blue blazer from his stepfather. He bought an airline ticket with money he didn't have and set out for the nation's capital in March to tell Congress what's wrong with the farm bill.
http://www.ajc.com/search/content/opinion/stories/2006/10/08/iscotton1008.html

"'I farm about 200 acres, and I'm surrounded by huge farms that continue to get huge subsidies by forming partnerships,' Houston, 31, told aides to U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.). (The congressman wasn't available.) 'There aren't any young farmers like me anymore. Unless you've got a rich daddy with 1,000 acres, there's no way you can make it. We're basically giving away government support to whomever owns the land.'

"In a latter-day remake of a Hollywood classic, Mr. Houston Goes to Washington is the story of an idealistic outsider fighting for truth, justice and an overhaul of American farm policy. Unlike Jimmy Stewart, though, Houston (pronounced 'HOW-stun') is fully aware of the entrenched, monied interests that will fight to keep billion of dollars each year in subsidies flowing. Yet Houston, a struggling cotton and peanut farmer from Donalsonville, is not without friends. Standing with him is a vast coalition of disparate groups, Cato http://www.cato.org/ , the Environmental Working Group http://www.ewg.org , Environmental Defense http://www.environmentaldefense.org/home.cfm , American Farmland Trust http://www.farmland.org  and Bread for the World http://www.bread.org/ helped form the Alliance for Sensible Agriculture Policies, an ad hoc, politically diverse coalition preparing to fight the farm bill. Oxfam, along with Yum Brands http://www.yum.com/ , the Louisville, Ky.-based company that owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants in 100 countries, decries subsidies' impact on free trade. So, too, does the Food Products Association http://www.fpa-food.org/ , the nation's largest food and beverage trade group.

"The Environmental Working Group provides statistical analysis to demonstrate how subsidies favor wealthier farmers. Cato, the Heritage Foundation http://www.heritage.org/  and Taxpayers for Common Sense http://www.taxpayer.net/  bring a conservative, anti-tax, anti-deficit bent to the subsidy debate. Farmland Trust wants to strengthen the financial safety net for small farmers, such as Houston, pressured by land-hungry producers, developers and second-home buyers.

"The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation http://www.hewlett.org/Default.htm , the W.K. Kellogg Foundation http://www.wkkf.org/Default.aspx?LanguageID=0  and others have millions of dollars to help ASAP fight the farm bill. Rick Swartz, ASAP's self-described moderator, said the 25 groups in ASAP will spend about $10 million during the next 18 months."

In conclusion, the AJC article noted that, "Farm bill supporters feel the pressure. Two years ago, the World Trade Organization ruled that certain cotton subsidies were illegal and must end. U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), who chairs the Agriculture Committee, said the next farm bill will be 'WTO-compliant.'

"President Bush has tried for the past two years to cap subsidies at $250,000 and prevent farmers from receiving additional payments via multiple entities. Big cotton and rice farmers, in particular, legally breach the limits and can receive upward of $1 million annually. And they carry much weight on Capitol Hill.

"Houston holds no illusions that legislators will come to the aid of small, struggling farmers.

"'They all talk about helping young farmers, but once you start cutting subsidies, how many people do you think will start screaming?' he asked. 'I have low expectations and high hopes for everything. That's made life a lot easier for me.'"

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