Farm Subsidies
The main priority of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is to promote agriculture. One way it does this is to give out farm subsidies through the Farm Bill. The Farm Bill, which is renewed every five years, is a comprehensive law governing many food and agriculture policies and programs. By one program, the USDA guarantees minimum prices, or floors, to farmers. Loan deficiency payments (or subsidies), created in 1985, have become the largest component of that guarantee. The subsidies -- available for major commodity crops including corn, wheat, cotton and soybeans -- can vary in each county where it is produced. In the past five years alone, the USDA gave out more than $95 billion in agricultural subsidies, primarily for these major commodity crops.
To see how the subsidies have changed over time, go to:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2006/07/02/GR2006070200024.html.