Bush Administration Against Farmers

Everything is upside down in politics. The Republicans were once the friend of farmers large and small, then only large, now not at all. The Bush Administration vehemently opposes the farm bill (the 24 missing pages really was not at issue even though they tried to make a big deal out of it).

Administration fights farm bill to bitter end was a front page article in Delta Farm Press May 27, 2008 10:54 AM, By Forrest Laws, Farm Press Editorial Staff. The article begins:

You can’t say the Bush administration didn’t go down swinging in its efforts to thwart the will of Congress and 1,000-plus farm organizations on the 2008 farm bill conference report.

I never supposed that it would be this way, but I find that as a farmer I have much in common with industrial soy and corn growers, so I read their journals, too.

The farm bill is a mishmash, but it helps put food on the table of Americans and our trading partners. I attended a seminar last fall given by WSU and the American Farmland Trust about the farm bill, then I heard Congressman Rick Larsen speak to it at the Focus on Farming gathering in December put on by Snohomish County. Farmers in Washington State get very little out of it; less than 1% as I understand it. Very little helps a lot, and I hope that Larsen was able to keep cane (berry) growers in it. Money and programs authorized by the farm bill really helped us pay for something that we would not have been able to afford, a manure containment and composting structure. Not much money in the grand scheme of things, but a lot to us.

The disarray from not having a farm bill in place and authorized would likely cause havoc and increase the food problems.

Weather report
It has been sunny and warm at about 67F for the past five days. Right now it is overcast and 57F. I hope the soil is warm enough that the plants keep growing. Our CSA starts next Tuesday. Wish us luck.