The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

June 12, 2007

Farm subsidies in Mercer County top $5 million from 2003-05

By Patrick W. Connelly

MERCER COUNTY AREA — Mercer County farmers received more than $5 million in federal subsidies from 2003 to 2005.

Altogether Pennsylvania farmers received about $165 million, according to data made available Tuesday.

It’s been known for years that even the wealthiest people in the nation can qualify for federal farm subsidies, but until Tuesday, exactly who those people were wasn’t available for everyone to see.

New Agriculture Department data makes it easier to see exactly who benefits from the federal farm subsidy program.

The Environmental Working Group, a public interest group that has long pushed for more equitable distribution of farm subsidies, compiled the data and posted it online. The database includes about 358,000 beneficiaries who received $9.8 billion in crop subsidy benefits between 2003 and 2005.

“Tens of thousands of people who have benefited from billions in federal farm subsidy payments have been shielded from public view for decades,” the organization’s Web site said.

Mercer County’s recipients of the federal dollars pale by comparison to others.

Texas oil billionaire Lee M. Bass qualified to receive $242,787 in subsidies from 2003-05, while former professional basketball player Scottie Pippen received $78,945 in conservation subsidies for land in Arkansas.

The largest amount of federal money in Mercer County was $224,611 to Pilgram Farm of Fredonia.

The database includes about 358,000 beneficiaries who received $9.8 billion in crop subsidy benefits between 2003 and 2005.

The current farm bill, which expires Sept. 30, limits farmers to $360,000 in subsidies a year, but that ceiling is filled with loopholes that allow many farms to exceed it.

The Bush administration has proposed closing the loopholes and halting subsidies to anyone making more than $200,000 in adjusted gross income. Last month, senators introduced legislation that would cap individual farm payments at $250,000.

Corn and dairy subsidies ranked as the top commodity and conservation programs in Mercer County from 2003-05.

More than $4.6 million in corn subsidies came into the county during that time.

The new data released by USDA was compiled at the request of Congress and obtained by the Environmental Working Group and several media organizations under the Freedom of Information Act.

According to the group’s analysis of the new data, just 10 percent of farmers received 66 percent of federal farm payments from 2002-05.

It’s not just wealthy individuals who get farm subsidies — state governments are reaping the benefits too.

In Arkansas, for example, the group ranks the state’s Department of Corrections as the top subsidy beneficiary, pulling in nearly $2.3 million from 2003-05. The University of Illinois is first in Illinois, with nearly $1.3 million in payments for the three-year period.

But James Bost, farm administrator for the Arkansas Department of Corrections, defended the subsidies.

“What we do benefits every farmer in the state of Arkansas as well as every other taxpayer,” Bost said.

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