OUR VIEW: Federal Farm Bill Hasn't Worked As Intended

We've read that the politicians in Washington, D.C. plan to rewrite the farm bill this spring.  

While politicians don't read this blog, their constituents do.  

And many of those constituents agree that changes need to be made to the farm bill to save the small (and even mid-sized) farmer, which has become an endangered species thanks to the federal farm program that lacks meaningful payment caps.

From 1995 to 2016, Nebraska farmers and landowners received $20.3 billion in subsidies from the federal taxpayer.  Let that sink in.  Now ask yourself: 

• Is rural Nebraska better off after those billions of dollars were given mostly to a handful of mega operations? 

• Do we have more or fewer farms?

• Do we have more or fewer kids in our rural and small-town schools?

• Are small-town main streets thriving more or less compared to 30 or 40 years ago?

While some of the changes we've seen in rural America would have occurred regardless, the feds subsidizing the nation's very largest farms and landowners has expedited these troubling trends. 

The only thing previous farm bills have really done is help the biggest farms to get even bigger in a shorter amount of time.  Uncle Sam is giving a huge helping hand to the very operators that should be self-sufficient, making it impossible for the small farmer to get ahead.

In 2016, Saline County was the 19th most heavily subsidized of Nebraska's 93 counties. Most surrounding counties were ranked even higher.  According to an online database of federal records, here are some of the largest farm payment recipients in our area over the past 21 years (from 1995-2016), followed by the amount each farm received during that span of two decades:

• (Largest recipient in state) Kaliff Farms * York, NE -- $9,860,910
• H-r-w Farming * Friend, NE -- $6,572,990
• J D Hirschfeld and Sons * Benedict, NE -- $4,165,609
• Orville Hoffschneider and Sons * Waco, NE -- $3,401,172
• J D M Farms * Shickley, NE -- $3,247,662
• Alfs Farms Partnership * Shickley, NE -- $3,093,519
• B and B Ag * Fairmont, NE -- $2,741,238
• R and M Farms * Shickley, NE -- $2,276,234
• Pospisil Farms * Friend, NE -- $2,271,089
• Rex P Biegert Shickley, NE -- $2,084,728
• Bohaty Farms Joint Venture * Seward, NE --$2,048,396
• Rowen J Kempf and Sons * Shickley, NE -- $1,939,504
• J R Kaliff and Sons * York, NE -- $1,876,598
• S S R Land Co * Shickley, NE -- $1,682,446
• Spohn Farms Inc * Friend, NE -- $1,626,379
• Todd N Ricenbaw * Cordova, NE -- $1,506,802
• Glen T Petersen Farms Inc * Fairmont, NE -- $1,498,978
• Weber and Sons II * Dorchester, NE -- $1,471,359
• Agri Song Inc * Exeter, NE -- $1,452,204
• Drake Farms Inc * Friend, NE -- $1,444,689
• Medow Farms Inc * Seward, NE -- $1,406,596
• Kenneth L Cross * Friend, NE -- $1,375,689

That's just our look through the largest 250 recipients. For all Nebraska recipients, visit here.

Dorchester and other Nebraska communities depend on the ag economy to a large extent.  When farmers do well, our businesses tend to do well and our schools tend to do well. But that doesn't mean generously subsidizing the very largest  farms -- without stricter payment caps -- makes economic or ethical sense.  Currently, 85% of federal subsidies go to the largest 20% of producers.  

Not everyone is fortunate enough to inherit hundreds or thousands of acres of farmland, but most Americans are unlucky enough to pay tens or hundreds of thousands in federal income tax over a working lifetime.  Should middle class and working class Americans be forced to subsidize some of the wealthiest landowners in the world?

If these big subsidies to the biggest operators bother you, let your congressman and senators in Washington know how you feel.  

Contact them at:

Rep. Adrian Smith: https://adriansmith.house.gov/

Sen. Deb Fischer: https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/

Sen. Ben Sasse:  https://www.sasse.senate.gov/public/

Then feel free to pass along this editorial to friends, family and neighbors.