Behm, Karen S.

English

Research Papers in Economics

THE 1985  FARM BILL AND  FUTURE  FAMILY
POLICY EDUCATION
Karen S.  Behm
Louisiana State University
When talking about the groups involved with the farm bill and the
potential  groups  affected,  it  is tempting  to  treat the groups  as  if
they  were  mutually  exclusive.  In  reality  there  is a  great  deal  of
overlap especially when it comes to discussing families. However for
purposes of this paper I want to concentrate  on those families  not
directly  involved  in  farming. If farmers  make  up approximately  3
percent  of the  population  then  I  am  really  concerned  about  the
other 97 percent and our efforts to reach them with policy education
programs.  Those  directly  involved  in  agriculture  will  usually  be
reached through their farm organizations.
There are consumer  groups that have been involved with the farm
bill but only a small segment of the population really has any con-
tact with them.  Some  of the  consumer  groups  may actually  be  at
cross  purposes  with  others  by their  insistance  on  cheap  food  and
fiber  for  consumers  without  considerations  of  other  factors.  Al-
though it may seem more  ethical to  some people  to represent  con-
sumers rather  than a  commodity  group such  as wheat  producers,
cotton growers,  etc., the consumer  groups are  also  special interest
groups with a particular political agenda.
General Public
There  still is little contact with the nebulous  group known as the
general public.  This  is the group that sees the headlines  about the
huge amount of money spent on the farm bill. They often do not read
to the end  of the news article  where the last sentence explains that
entitlement and other programs  are also included  in the bill. If they
do,  they  may  not  realize  that  entitlement  programs  include  food
stamps, Women,  Infants and Children (WIC), school lunch  and other
feeding programs  or that the extension  service  and experiment  sta-
tion are  also authorized  under the farm bill.  This is  also the group
paying the taxes to support such programs. Although there is a lot of
talk about  voter  apathy  there  is growing  concern  over government
expenditures  and the  inability  to balance  the federal  budget. This
167concern  could get translated  into the election  of legislators  who are
much less supportive  of large farm programs.  Although there seems
to be public sympathy  for farm problems, the sympathy appears to be
for individual  farmers not agriculture as an industry.
I am not  here  to either  defend or  critique the present farm  bill.  I
am operating under the assumption that there will be another bill in
1989 if not sooner and for that reason  I am convinced we need to do
some good policy education  for the general  public.
I would like to begin with a minor point that has more impact than
we realize. The slang term "farm bill" immediately sets up a barrier
for  most people.  If they don't farm why should they be interested in
the  farm  bill?  Since  it  is  unlikely  the  term  "farm  bill"  will  be
dropped any time  soon  we will  need to do a lot of continuous  educa-
tion rather  than wait  until  a  bill  is pending.  Education  done  only
while  a  bill  is  under  debate  also  appears  to  be  self-serving,  thus
much  of the information  is tainted in the mind of the public.
Of  particular  interest  to  the  general  public  is  the  food  supply.
Americans have become accustomed  to a stable,  low cost food supply
year round.  A rise of 10 cents  a pound in meat  prices  is enough to
make  the six  o'clock  news.  When the  same  news  program  reports
farmers receiving less than $2 a bushel for grain that cost almost $4
to  produce,  the  public  is  upset  over  the way  farmers  are  treated.
There appears to be little understanding of the relationship  between
farm  prices  and  food  prices.  In fact  food  prices  are  probably  more
reflective  of transportation  and marketing  costs than of the actual
cost of production.  Yet there definitely is no free lunch for everyone.
Somehow the costs have to be paid. If they are not paid at the super-
market checkout  line, then they are paid as taxes which then subsi-
dize farmers in a variety of ways. Although there are advantages and
disadvantages to this system, the big problem is that the true cost of
maintaining  a  stable  food  supply  is hidden,  and,  in  the efforts  to
reduce federal spending, subsidies for agriculture  are likely to be cut
as well. The public needs a better understanding of the current poli-
cies  as well as the alternatives for maintaining a stable food supply.
There are many components of the farm bill that get lost in all the
publicity  over  the large  payments  some  farmers  received.  More  ef-
forts  need to be  made to inform the public  of these other provisions
and their effect  on them.  For example,  not only do food  stamps pro-
vide  aid  to low-income  families  but they also  slightly increase  the
demand  for  food  and provide  a  level  of economic  stability  for  local
retail markets.  Emergency feeding programs provide help during di-
sasters such  as hurricanes,  tornadoes,  floods,  etc. The  housing com-
ponent of Farmers Home  Administration  (FmHA) has enabled many
rural residents  to purchase  decent housing  without  having to relo-
cate to a more urban area.
168Conclusion
If support for agriculture is to continue,  extension is going to have
to increase its efforts to help the general  public understand the agri-
cultural system.  These efforts need to be ongoing,  not just tied to the
passage  of a  particular  piece  of legislation.  More  work  needs  to be
done in translating  legislation such as the farm bill into terms with
which the public  is familiar,  including discussions  of who pays the
costs and who benefits from various alternatives.  We do a good job of
talking  to  ourselves  and related  groups  but  there  is still  a  lot  of
misunderstanding.  We  may need  to skip a  refereed journal  once  in
awhile  and write instead for the popular  press.  There  are  plenty  of
people writing but few who really understand  the system. Instead  of
so many articles on the high cost of food or the poor quality of winter
tomatoes  we need  more  on the miracle  of a  stable  year round  food
supply at a cost  most countries would  envy.
169

THE 1985 FARM BILL AND FUTURE FAMILY POLICY EDUCATION

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