President Obama's plans to cut farm subsidies "appear dead for now," writes Philip Brasher of The Des Moines Register, but federal farm spending could still be cut, as Congress looks for money in the Agriculture Department budget to support healthy eating for children. The administration's plan to cut subsidies for farms selling more than $500,000 annually, in order to free up $1 billion a year for child nutrition programs, foundered because it would affect moderate-sized farmers, not just the giant agribusinesses Obama publicly targeted.
The House and Senate budget resolutions also eliminated a proposed $250,000 cap on the subsidies that could be received by any one farm, and replaced a proposed $500 million annual saving in crop insurance with a relatively token $70 million reduction over five years. But with childhood obesity on the rise, lawmakers still hope to contribute to school nutrition programs. "Congress is due to write new rules for school lunches and other federal child nutrition programs this year and will debate plans to expand eligibility for free meals and to address child obesity by improving the lunches' quality," Brasher notes. "School nutrition directors also want Congress to increase federal subsidies for meals." (Read more)
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