Produce and Insurance

An article in the NYT the other day points to the disparity in the power of the commodity ag lobby and that of the produce industry.  The congress is about to expand the government subsidy for corn and soybean producers to millions of marginally productive acres.  As one grower said, the government is virtually guaranteeing him a profit of $1000.00 per acre before he puts a seed in the ground.  He could basically plow up an acre of beach sand and insure the crop, even though he knows there will be no viable crop.  Contrast this with the produce grower in Salinas who pays $5000.00 per acre for the privilege of gambling his own money on the hope the market will allow him to recoup that cost and make a profit.  There is a land rush going on in the Dakotas right now as growers pay up to $2000. per acre for dryland with little or no fertility and a proclivity to erosion.  With government programs they can pay for the land in a few years with our money.  WTF....