ERS posts the Farm Bill side-by-side

The 629-page text (.pdf) of the 2008 Farm Bill is so complex and unreadable that the U.S. food policy community has been on the edge of our seats waiting for the USDA/ERS side-by-side comparison unveiled today.

The ERS side-by-side tool compares the new Farm Bill with current law, title by title, so we can finally begin to understand what the law really means.

ERS accompanied today's unveiling of the side-by-side tool with a web video that strikes the dramatic tone of a documentary by Kenneth Burns or an account of a manned mission to the moon. And given the challenge of explaining U.S. farm policy, it seems surprisingly appropriate.