Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Inquiring minds want to know...

It's kinda like Googling yourself for farmers. Look up your entry in the EWG database.

Regardless of your position on subsidies, this is impressive computer work. And to date, even the most vehement payment boosters have found no grounds to claim the EWG results are inaccurate. In fact, their database work informs the farm bill debate. (As opposed to having NASS or ERS generate numbers 5 years later)

I like the map feature, although it reinforces something I noticed a few years ago. Not too many farmers live around me.

Lots of farmland - just not many resident tillers in my area.

Maybe it's me.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Correct me if I am wrong, but when EWG counts CCC loans as income, I wouldn't call that terribly accurate.

John Phipps said...

Anon:

I'm working on this but I don't think the Section 1614 database from the FSA (upon which this analysis is based) does count loans. Or at least it nets them out when repaid.

None of the entries I checked had an amount for loans, just LDP's, CEC gains, MLG's, etc. which are true benefits.

Some farmers count a CCC loan as income of course, but then offset that when the grain is sold for tax purposes. That's a personal accounting question.

If I find anything contrary, I'll post it.

FWIW - my entry is correct, but then I never use the loan.