By Julie Murphree, Arizona Farm Bureau
The American Farm Bureau Federation has produced a 21-minute video highlighting the major issues involved in the next farm bill debate.

This should be of interest to Arizona farmers and ranchers. The impacts of this coming farm bill could include local Arizona agriculture, organic Arizona agriculture and the state's agriculture in general.

In viewing this video you’ll get an idea of the key issues agriculture must consider as fewer dollars will be available. The video features AFBF President Bob Stallman, AFBF Executive Director of Public Policy Mark Maslyn and AFBF Chief Economist Bob Young.

In the meantime, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack defended Federal Farm Payments by highlighting how federal farm payments enable Americans to have relatively cheap food. “Who benefits ultimately for all of this? I would argue that it’s not the 250,000 to 270,000 farmers who benefit from this structure. It is actually the rest of us that benefit,” Vilsack said in a meeting with the Des Moines Register editorial board.

Vilsack said the Obama administration continues to support a cap on payments for the largest farms. He said some of the $5 million in fixed payments that now goes to grain and cotton farmers could be shifted to other forms of subsidies.

I’ve always thought the “Farm Bill” was incorrectly named. Why? Food assistance and nutrition programs make up nearly 60 percent of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA), according to its 2008 budget, for example. “Food Assistance” Bill seems more appropriate. Farm programs accounted for 13% in 2008.

Below are some facts about the Farm Bill, based on the actual 2008 USDA budget (most recent budget I could find): $94.8 Billion.

• Food Assistance & Nutrition Programs: $55.5 Billion
• Food Safety and Marketing & Inspection: $2.3 Billion
• Conservation Programs: $5 Billion
• Research, Education & Economics: $2.7 Billion
• Risk Management: $4.5 Billion
• Forest Service: $6.2 Billion
• Foreign Ag Service: $2.2 Billion
• Rural Development: $3 Billion
• Farm Programs: $13 Billion

Perhaps 13% seems too much for some for farm programs under the USDA’s 2008 budget example. But it’s those programs that produce the food that support the food assistance and nutrition programs in addition to feeding us in general, feeding others and having leftover. It’s just a few things to consider when focused on the Farm Bill that formulates USDA’s budget.

Such a complex budget isn’t perfect but hopefully great minds can gather, generate consensus, and come to a place where we’re maximizing the effectiveness of our tax dollars (kind of a stretch for government, but …) and maintain a secure food production system in our country.