Not only is the database itself a brilliant public tool, but there are some fantastic resources and data drill-downs for your use/interest. As a home-grown Missouri girl, I thought I'd check out that information first. It seems that Missouri received $8.46 billion in subsides between 1995-2009. But wait, here's the kicker, 58 percent of farmers in Missouri did NOT collect payments. Ten percent of those who did, collected 71 percent of all subsidies, amounting to $5.27 billion over 15 years. Folks, that seems kind of f***ked up. The thing is, maybe it isn't! Here's where we have to admit that most of us don't really understand the history and present manifestations of government farm subsidies. (Though after all my research, I think my first reaction to be upset at the distribution of farm subsidies is spot on.)
With that in mind, I did some research to find some learning aids to bring myself more up to speed. Perhaps you can join me in my learning and recommend some additional resources?
The first key to unraveling farm subsidy is to dig into the most recent Farm Bill. The Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has a fantastic piece called the "Grassroots Guide to the 2008 Farm Bill." Next, we have a lovely chart from The Washington Post from a few years back that lays out farm subsidy history:
And folks, just in case you need to (and don't be ashamed), let's take it back to the high school level (which is sometimes where we need to return and learn, or remind ourselves of what we did learn). I found some fabulous resources on the PBS Web site for teachers. There is a free, multi-media curriculum called "The Cultivation of Agricultural Subsidies." I've embedded their awesome glossary of economic terms below. Scroll down to "subsidy" and watch the video. Bob is fantastic, if not a little freaky.
