Illinois farmers are farming the government for cash
The fall harvest is looming, and you might think Illinois’ farmers and landowners would be preoccupied with bringing in the corn and soybean crops. But they’re also focused on reaping taxpayer money from a federal government that just keeps pouring it on. The practice of farming the government for subsidies is thriving in the heartland. The latest proposed infusion is an $11.1 billion…
Illinois farmers and landowners are not just preoccupied with harvesting their corn and soybean crops this fall, but also with seeking taxpayer money from the federal government. The practice of farmers farming the government for subsidies is on the rise in the heartland of America. Recently, the Trump administration requested an additional $11.1 billion supplemental farm-aid package from Congress in June, adding to the billions already flowing to agriculture this year.
At the same time, the Senate Agriculture Committee is trying to revive a new five-year farm bill after a failed August committee vote, due to a partisan disagreement over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). While there is genuine financial stress in farm country, it is not solely caused by a single "emergency".
Farmers have been struggling with high production costs and weaker commodity prices for several years. This year, the Iran war has exacerbated the situation by driving up fuel and fertilizer costs. Washington's response to various downturns or disruptions seems to be a never-ending supply of government aid.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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