Farm Bill links in brief

Dan Owens at the Blog for Rural America traces some misleading talking points as they wind their way through the conventional wisdom, and slams "The 'Reform' that Wasn't." Dan Morgan, writing at FarmPolicy.com, points out that the U.S. business community, outside of the big farm lobby, wants real subsidy reform.

The Washington Post covers a GAO report showing that $1.1 billion in USDA subsidies over the past seven years went to the estates and families of deceased farmers. In a letter, USDA responded that these payments did not necessarily indicate fraud or abuse. According to the Post, "The department's field offices defended the practice of routinely paying dead farmers' estates without fully investigating the claims, citing staff shortages and competing priorities." See the Post's full series of articles, Harvesting Cash.