I do think that there is a big difference between family farms and agri-business, and one of the distressing things that I think has occurred is with consolidation of farm lands. You’ve seen large agri-businesses benefit from enormous profits from existing farm programs, and I think we should be focusing most of those programs on those family farmers.
BARACK OBAMA, debate, Oct. 12, 2004
“Otherwise, how will family farmers have enough money so that they can donate to Democrat campaigns so that we can vote for more subsidies for family farms?”
You know, I live in farm country. There are very few small family farms anymore, at least in south-central Iowa. There are farms owned by families, but they’re big, and they’re usually held by family limited partnerships or LLCs, which are, in turn, owned by families. The 160-acre homestead farm that was common fifty years ago is definitely a thing of the past.
The only family farms left that can actually support a family are dairy farms, tobacco farms and (industrial) chicken farms.
I take a little exception to the comment. I grew up ona family farm and know a lot of family farmers who neither need subsidy nor want it. In my experience the typical family farmer HATES govt. subsidies as they drives prices down. I don’t disagree with the fact that subsidies suck but please don’t make the statement that most family farmers like democrats, we don’t.