City (and suburban) slickers cash in on U.S. farm subsidies

When George W. Bush signed a farm bill in 2002, he said it would preserve the “farm way of life” for generations. The bill increased direct payments to farmers by $83 billion, redistributing wealth to agricultural communities and helping fund the farm way of life for people living at Crown Center and in Mission Hills.

Newly tabulated information from the Environmental Working Group, which is critical of U.S. farm policy, shows that absentee landowners and investors receive subsidies that, in the public’s mind, go to struggling family farms. The U.S. Department of Agriculture last year sent nearly $100 million to cities with more than 500,000 residents.