The Fault Lines of Farm Policy: A Legislative and Political History of the Farm BillAt the intersection of the growing national conversation about our food system and the long-running debate about our government’s role in society is the complex farm bill. American farm policy, built on a political coalition of related interests with competing and conflicting demands, has proven incredibly resilient despite development and growth. In The Fault Lines of Farm Policy Jonathan Coppess analyzes the legislative and political history of the farm bill, including the evolution of congressional politics for farm policy. Disputes among the South, the Great Plains, and the Midwest form the primordial fault line that has defined the debate throughout farm policy’s history. Because these regions formed the original farm coalition and have played the predominant roles throughout, this study concentrates on the three major commodities produced in these regions: cotton, wheat, and corn. Coppess examines policy development by the political and congressional interests representing these commodities, including basic drivers such as coalition building, external and internal pressures on the coalition and its fault lines, and the impact of commodity prices. This exploration of the political fault lines provides perspectives for future policy discussions and more effective policy outcomes. |
Contents
The Origins of Farm Policy 19091933 | 9 |
Adjusting to the New Deal and War 19331945 | 37 |
Transition and Turbulence after War 19451949 | 73 |
A Surplus of Problems and Disagreement 19501969 | 95 |
The Commodity Roller Coaster and the Crash | 135 |
Revolution and Reform Launch the Modern Era | 173 |
Cotton Ethanol and Risk Management Form | 205 |
Old Fights Plague the Agricultural Act of 2014 | 237 |
Trying to Reason with the Fault Lines | 285 |
Notes | 337 |
| 449 | |
| 465 | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
2014 farm bill 90 percent acreage reductions Aiken amendment defeated American Farm assistance August Bankhead baseline billion budget Chairman Ellender changes cloture Cochran commodity Cong Congress Congressional conservation controls corn countercyclical crop insurance crop prices David Rogers Deal December December 18 decoupling demand Democrats Depression economy efforts election export Ezra Taft Benson Farm Bureau farm coalition farm interests farm policy farm programs FarmPolicy.com fault lines February federal floor food stamps George Aiken House Ag Committee increase issue July July 20 June June 20 Keith legislation loan rates major March ment midwestern Milton Young negotiations November November 29 October partisan passed percent of parity planted Poage political Politico President pressure price supports problems production pushed Ranking Member reduce reform regional Representative Republicans risk Schertz Schertz and Doering Senate Ag Committee September September 14 sharecroppers snap southern spending surplus target prices tenants tion U.S. Senate USDA vote wheat