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Farm safety net
programs are
designed to
ensure America’s
farmers and
ranchers have
the stability to
provide a safe,
affordable, and
abundant food
and fiber supply
to American
consumers.
Our agricultural
productivity
ensures that we
are not
dependent on
foreign sources
for our very
basic needs and
that we have a
sufficient and
reliable food
and fiber supply
that benefits
all Americans.
In fact,
Americans spend
less than 10% of
their income on
food, less than
consumers in any
other country in
the world.
Farm policy
helps make that
possible by
stabilizing the
market and
ensuring the
production of
our most basic
needs. Domestic
food production
ensures that
American
consumers have
access to a safe
and affordable
food supply, and
farm policy
helps to create
stability so
that year after
year, farmers
are able to
produce the food
consumers need
to survive.
We often take
for granted the
availability of
food in this
country. We
assume that our
grocery store
shelves will
always be
stocked because
they always have
been. American
consumers have
not experienced
wild
fluctuations in
the price of
food or fiber
nor a shortage
of supply
because our farm
policy was
designed to
ensure a
constant,
reliable supply
of our basic
commodities.
Farm policy also
ensures that
America’s food
and fiber is
safe. Domestic
production of
our basic
commodities
ensures that we
control the
entire
production
process from
planting to
harvesting to
marketing.
Strict safety
regulations are
applied and
American
consumers can
count on those
standards.
More than just
the food to fuel
our bodies,
agriculture
products and
by-products are
found in a wide
variety of
everyday
necessities such
as medications,
soap, paper,
clothing, tires,
building
supplies, books,
and fuel, just
to name a few.
Every single
American is a
beneficiary of
U.S. agriculture
every single day
of their lives,
yet sadly, many
don’t know what
is entailed in
getting the
products they
need into their
hands. As
consumers become
farther and
farther removed
from our farms
and ranches, the
less consumers
understand what
is involved in
how food
products get
from the farm to
the table.
Farming and
ranching are not
easy
occupations, and
the production
of America’s
food and fiber
supply is an
inherently risky
enterprise. A
high yielding
crop in one year
does not
guarantee the
same yields the
following year
or growing
season.
Producers have
little to no
control over the
weather
conditions,
disease, or pest
and insect
invasion, which
can damage or
destroy crops
and livestock
without warning.
A farmer may be
on track for
record yields
and a week
before harvest,
an ice storm may
claim all of his
or her crops.
The farm safety
net helps
mitigate the
risk of farming
and ranching to
ensure a
reliable supply
system. Farm
policy creates
stability in our
market so that
our food supply
remains
consistently
affordable and
safe. By
providing
producers
stability in an
increasingly
volatile
environment, we
can better
ensure our
self-sufficiency
and
independence.
Any program or
policy
initiative that
utilizes the
taxpayer’s money
should be spent
wisely and for
the benefit of
those whose
money is being
used. American
agricultural
production
exists solely to
meet the food
and fiber needs
of the American
people. Since
2002, the cost
of farm safety
net programs
averaged roughly
$8.5 billion a
year. These
programs account
for less than
one half of 1
percent of total
federal
spending. No one
will argue that
billions of
dollars are no
big deal,
especially when
those dollars
belong to
American
taxpayers;
however, when
you break down
the cost of the
farm safety net
into what it
costs each
consumer, the
numbers paint a
dramatically
different
picture.
U.S. farm policy
under the 2002
Farm Bill costs
each American
roughly 4
pennies per
meal. At less
than 10%, the
American
consumer is
spending far
less of their
income on food
than any other
consumer in the
world today or
at any other
time in history.
In the United
Kingdom, the
next lowest
country,
consumers spend
more than 15% of
their income on
food.
It is the free
enterprise
system utilized
by hard working
farmers and
ranchers and
supported by a
modest
government
safety net that
rewards American
consumers with
the safest, most
abundant, and
most affordable
food supply in
the world.
RF
Bob Goodlatte
represents the
6th District of
Virginia in the
U.S. House of
Representatives.
He serves as the
Ranking
Republican on
the Agriculture
Committee. |
