Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Agricultural subsidies

Does anyone here know anything about agricultural subsidies in the US? I know a little, and only need to know a little more, but I'm hoping there's someone who can help with a few key pieces of information that I don't know and can't find quickly on the web.

I'm looking for a history of agricultural subsidies paid out, specifying products - mainly for 1995. All I can find is 2006 in detail and a total of what was paid out for other years.

Also, I'm wondering when the government announces the subsidies for the coming year. I know I read an article on changes in the subsidies when last year's came out, but I can't remember when I read it.

This is not very helpful, but many, if not most, subsidies don't go directly to the agricultural community. Instead they are sent as earmarked contributions for distribution to the states. The states are required to spend it on the program for which it is earmarked, but can figure out the best method of distribution on a state level. To find out more, visit the website for your state department of agriculture.

By the way, if you don't know those numbers off of the top of your head, chances are that nobody else does either. Feel free to make this up as you write; just as long as it's a little bit educated it will work out okay.


Elisabeth

Hmm... Thanks, Elisabeth - that definitely changes what I wrote a little bit.

For now, I have made up the subsidies, but I wasn't really sure. The 2006 subsidies showed wheat and cotton as highest, and I thought the article I read had stated that there was a shift away from the old standbys of corn and soybeans, but I'm not sure I'm correct. It does seem a bit weird to me that soybeans were a common subsidy in 1995 although I know that most of that is not for human consumption.

If I am reading this website correctly, then Kansas didn't get any subsidy payments for particular crops in 1995.

The big money ticket was the Agricultural Conservation Program

That is if I am reading it right.

James

Soybeans have been big a lot longer than the public was aware of. Soybeans were big in my area back in the 80s. At the time they were used as hamburger filler. They reached a height during the burger wars.


Elisabeth

Thanks, James and Elisabeth!

James - I came across that website in my searching yesterday, but I think I'm too stupid to read it. So I ignored it.

Elisabeth - That was my guess. I know that now soybean is mostly used for oil and feed for farm animals. Only a small portion goes into food and a very small portion for the foods we think of with soybeans - vegetarian things like tofu (most of the rest of the food is fillers like you said was happening in the 80s - I think I read somewhere that McDonald's hamburgers are mostly soybeans).

Sara sent me a link that lists all the subsidies in sent to Kansas in total for 1995-2006 and it has soybeans as #6. So lower down than I thought (at least for Kansas), but clearly it was used before tofu started popping up everywhere or it wouldn't make it onto the table (which only list the top 10 subsidies for the 11 year period).