The Farm Bill/ The "Food Bill"

With trepidation I said yes to a brief phone interview concerning The Farm Bill. Being misquoted on something that I think is tricky but very important brought about this hesitancy, but agreeing that there needs to be a change and that subsidies done right can be very helpful to lots of people pushed me to risk misquotation. I also think that it is important to realize that Montana is still small and mid-size farms - with a few exceptions, and the trends are obviously going bigger and bigger, but right now we still have hope for the family farm...my hope is that putting energy into changing the Farm Bills distribution of money can bolster local economies, small/midsized farms, and the food stamps program - basically getting money to folks who NEED it instead of those who have enough. I hope we can encourage the gov't to be what it is supposed to be: a safe guard within our Capitalist system to look out for the little guy - a little equality for all!


The article is from the U of M newspaper called The Kaimin.

One piece that is a bit off talks about having a hard time selling to companies. I was referring to the possibility of our last elevator in Fort Benton being shut down, being replace by a high speed shuttle loader - I know that this move will reduce our options as farmers, cut jobs at the local elevator, and further the trend of killing off local economy. I did mention the local company Montana Flour and Grains, run by two brothers, who are currently building an elevator to handle more grain, but I don't think I saw it in the article. They are mainly organic buyers, yet are doing both, and don't see much difference between organic and non-organic dry land grain...besides the market price.

Here is the link - cut and paste! because I still haven't taken the time to figure out how to make a link!
http://www.montanakaimin.com/index.php/news/news_article/farm_bill_helps_fund_us_food_production/