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Know your 1949 Farm ActI used to be familiar with the details of the 1949 Farm Act, but that was too many years ago. Today, the details are pretty fuzzy but, as I can remember, this is how it worked. It was basically a supply control bill that kept grain prices up at levels close to the parity level. Periodically, farmers had to vote as to whether they wanted the program to remain in effect. They didn't like the government restricting how much grain they could raise, but they always voted to continue the program because most could make more money with the higher grain prices, even at lower production levels. The non-farm public didn't like the '49 act. Not only did it keep food prices higher but, some years, it cost the government a lot of money to store the huge surplus stocks that had built up and to keep them off the market. No government money went to farmers as direct payments. They received their money from the higher grain prices they received from the market place. These problems wouldn't exist today. Raising enough grain to meet food and fuel needs is going to be the problem for quite a while--not restricting production. And with grain prices at record high levels now (and probably going to move a lot higher), the prices the '49 act requires are going to be there. No production controls will be needed. Today, the non-farm public opposes the present direct payment system, largely because much of the money goes to only a few very big farmers and to non-farmers. If we revert to the '49 Farm Act these payments stop and no member of Congress has to go on the record as opposing these payments at a time when grain prices are up at record high levels. The House and the Senate have yet to agree on a compromise farm bill. And making the big assumption that this will happen in time, President Bush has vowed to veto any farm bill containing some provisions that most likely will be included. I believe he will do this. And with Bush to blame, Congress is going to realize there are now more reasons to revert to the '49 act than to keep it from going back into effect. For starters, it would result in a very big cut in spending on farm program payments to farmers, something that is becoming more and more important as deficit reduction is becoming very necessary to accomplish. For the first time in my life, there is a chance the 1949 Farm Act will go back into operation again. It will decrease, not increase, government spending. Of course, this isn't a good thing in every way. A lot of the present act's money is spent for food stamps and subsidies for crop insurance programs. These weren't needed back in 1949. There is a big need for them now. I'm sure there are others. If Bush vetoes the bill and provides a convenient scapegoat, do you really think Congress will try to develop an acceptable farm bill in time to save what is an unpopular program for the non-farm public? Some parts will be saved, but not the unpopular ones. I don't think I need to say what these are. If High Plains Journal wants to do its farmer readers a big service, it should publish details about how the 1949 Farm Act operates. They should know what to expect in the future; more and more, that looks like what is coming. --John G. Ruff, Logan, Kan. 2/11/08 Date: 2/6/08
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