Farm Bill Frequently Asked Questions "The ELCA and the Farm Bill" Brochure (text) (pdf ) Hunger and the Farm Bill Fact Sheet (text) (pdf ) Religious Working Group on the Farm Bill Statement of Principles Take the Food Stamp Challenge! Join Faith Farm Teams ELCA Advocacy: Farm Bill Home

Frequently Asked Questions

2. What are subsidies and commodities?

A distressed post World War I economy, worsened by the Great Depression, provided the impetus for federal programs aimed at struggling U.S. farmers. From the 1930s onward, farm and rural economies have been shaped in part by such programs based on government payments called subsidies.

The word subsidy is simply a technical term for a financial government assistance payment.

Some agricultural subsidies in the farm bill encourage conservation of land and sustainable farming practices, some provide direct price supports to farmers who grow specific crops, and some provide for crop insurance or aid in marketing certain agricultural products.

A commodity is a specific crop; and in the farm bill, the word commodity refers to a crop that receives a subsidy from the government.

Current law establishes subsidies for five major commodities: wheat, feed grain (mostly corn), cotton, rice and soybeans. Farmers who grow these crops receive payments to stabilize their income based on the historical production of the commodity they grow. These payments in the 2002 Farm Bill fall under two categories: direct payments and counter-cyclical payments. See the USDA’s description for these subsidized commodities here: USDA Commodity Policies.

->Next: What solutions does the Farm Bill offer in addressing hunger in this country?

Learn More

Farm Bill Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Farm Bill?
2. What are subsidies and commodities?
3. What solutions does the Farm Bill offer in addressing hunger in this country?
4. How does the Farm Bill address conservation and protection of land?
5. How does U.S. farm policy impact farmers at home and around the globe?
6. What progress has the Farm Bill made in building a stronger rural America?
7. What voice does the Lutheran church lend to discussion and debate about the Farm Bill?

Download "The ELCA and the Farm Bill" Brochure

Hunger and the Farm Bill Fact Sheet (text) (pdf )

Religious Working Group on the Farm Bill Statement of Principles

Get Involved

Join Faith Farm Teams

Join the ELCA Farm Bill online discussion on LutherLink
(If you are not yet a member of LutherLink, you can register here.)

Take the Food Stamp Challenge!

June 2007