I get no subsidies on my cattle. If cattle prices fall to zero, there is no price support, or guarantee. That is fine with me. I also feel there is no great need for price supports, or direct payments to farmers, either. However, if I didn't participate in the farm program, I wouldn't be farming, because the BTOs who get the $20 per acre, can out bid me on rent by $20, and I'd be doing something else. There is no other way to say it. However, I ran the numbers, and by running my machinery a little longer, and going without a few luxuries, I figured I could make it on the ACRE payments OK, and still have plenty of safety net, (actually a somewhat better safety net, unless a disaster was limited to a small area). I made the personal choice to save the government 20% on what I farm, because of personal beliefs. I wasn't carping the government was spending too much on the farm subsidies, while being the first in line at the door when it came time to collect something. If everyone cut 20% on government benefits, or paid 10% more in taxes instead of getting all they could for themselves, our budget problem would be solved.
In answer to your question, yes, I'm all for dropping the farm payments entirely. That is fair enough. However, until then, I have to have at least that 80%, and instead someone getting the full 100% per acre would be planting my ground. Cut it completely, so that rents drop the $20 per acre, and I'm all for it. The only reason (according to my history teacher) that there ever was a farm program (1982, was that right?, it was sometimes in the 80's anyway) was to keep BANKS from going under, when farmers couldn't pay their loans. From that point, it became a 'temporary' government program, to one that is still going.
If you know of no other business that gets such price supports, etc, you've obviously never looked into the details of a wind farm. Tax rebates, guraranteed prices, ABOVE the going rate, guaranteed loans, grants, etc. If you can get one approved, unless you do something REALLY wrong, you are guaranteed a profit, not just a minimum price. I'm sure there are others, but that is the first that pops into my head as they are building another one West of me.
