ANALYSIS: ONLY 23% OF FARM BILL DIRECTLY SUPPORTS AG PRODUCTION

Federal farm policy has direct and indirect consequences for Nebraska's economy, in both rural and urban areas. Because of the soaring U.S. debt, some in the media and on Capitol Hill have called for large cuts to the farm bill, which is set to expire next year. Critics say the U.S. cannot afford to financially support farmers at a time of record-high commodity prices.

But according to an analysis by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service (CRS), most of the farm bill's dollars are not going to ag producers. The farm bill's price-support programs -- which are comprised of marketing loans and counter-cyclical payments -- are utilized only in times of low commodity prices; they have cost taxpayers relatively little in recent years. Of the estimated $284 billion in total outlays to fund the 2008 farm bill over five years, CRS estimated that 67% of the cost would be spent on the farm bill's nutrition title, which expands eligibility for food stamps and increases benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Only 15% of the farm bill's cost was anticipated to be used for commodity programs, another 8% was for crop insurance, and 9% was for mandatory conservation programs. In terms of dollar amounts, about $189 billion was expected to be spent for food stamps and certain other nutrition assistance programs, $42 billion for commodity price-supports, $24 billion for conservation, and $22 billion for crop insurance, according to CRS.