An Iowa State University economics professor says confusion reigns as Congress prepares to rewrite federal farm policy.Professor Bruce Babcock says there’s confusion among agricultural groups and Congressional leaders as to what the next Farm Bill should look like. He says military and environmental policies are easier to figure out because we know what those policies are supposed to do. He says no one has answered that question about ag policy.The last Farm Bill gradually phased out much of the federal support paid to farmers. In return, federal restrictions on which crops farmers could grow were lifted. Babcock says in the past few years, price dips have shown farmers don’t have much of a fallback.Babcock says the key will be convincing urbanites to support federal policies which support farmers. He says they’re more congressmen from urban areas, and that makes it more important to explain why they should support farm income.
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