Minnesota Farmers Union

(March 31, 2009) - No matter what one thinks about the proposal of the Obama administration to eliminate direct payments to farms with gross sales in excess of $500,000, it is becoming clear that they want to put their own imprint on farm policy. That can be seen in the argument that farmers could make up their loss of direct payments with payments for environmental benefits and carbon sequestration.

The issue of improving the environment through carbon sequestration fits in with the emphasis Obama has given to green energy investments, the reduction of atmospheric emissions of fossil-fuel-based carbon dioxide, and reducing the dependence of the US on imported oil.

Farmers have made significant investments in biofuels as a means of both increasing farm income and reducing the number of barrels of oil that are imported by the US every day. Public support is conditioned on the ongoing acceptance of these goals as important elements of public policy.