.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} The U.S. Senate passed a farm bill that included several provisions that are friendly to small farmers. But they’re outweighed by one provision that keeps the nation heading straight toward an era when giant operators control our food supply.

The Senate version of the 2007 farm bill, which now must be reconciled with an earlier House version, bans meatpacker ownership of livestock, giving the little guy a chance to stay in business. It creates a production tax credit for cellulosic ethanol and extends biodiesel tax credits through 2010, which might be useful for a fair number of farmers.

But then, like a gambler who lets you win until the stakes get high enough to matter, the Senate refused to do anything about capping federal farm payments.

“I’m extremely disappointed that my amendment to limit farm payments to those who need it most was not included in the final bill,” said Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley in a press release. “This was a real opportunity for the Senate to provide real reform and make a strong statement for the family farmer. Instead they left a loophole that anybody could drive a tractor through.”

Grassley and North Dakota Democrat Byron Dorgan tried to cap annual payments at $250,000 per year per farm. Their amendment received 56 votes for and 43 against – which meant that it failed, because fear of a filibuster resulted in a voting rule that required 60 votes for passage.

This is your democracy at work.

One could argue that everyone playing by the same rules should receive federal supports at the same rate. One could say that payment limits would punish success.

But as a practical matter, excessive payments to individual farm operators are not the result of larger farms; they’re the cause. People who amass vast parcels of land, hire employees like any other business and dominate the local economy aren’t in it for the love of agriculture. They’re in it because they know how the game is played and how lucrative the payoff can be.