http://www.heritage.org/static/rss/agriculture.xmlAgriculture - The Heritage Foundationen-US© Copyright 2012info@heritage.orgRSS Generator {5E839D49-48F5-43B8-9BA1-C1AD9D9936A5}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/reports/2012/04/us-sugar-program-bad-for-consumers-agriculture-and-americaBryan RileyGovernment interference in the sugar market hurts consumers and food manufacturers and weakens the U.S. economy. Wed, 18 Apr 2012 01:00:00 -0400{54E742AE-F9F9-4AC2-862F-72E4A5521BB7}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/reports/2012/02/2012-index-of-dependence-on-governmentWilliam Beach, Patrick TyrrellThe Index of Dependence on Government highlights the gathering fiscal storm clouds. Today more people depend on the federal government for housing, food, income, student aid, or other assistance once considered to be the responsibility of civil society. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:33:00 -0500{072C1CB1-6471-46B3-9FD4-695ABEE43BE9}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/reports/2012/01/when-fighting-crime-becomes-piling-on-the-overcriminalization-of-fraudPaul LarkinAre maple syrup felons sufficiently heinous that they should be imprisoned for perhaps as long as 45 years? Some members of the U.S. Senate seem to believe the answer is yes: How else to explain the provisions of the Maple Agriculture Protection and Law Enforcement Act of 2011? This bill, known as the MAPLE Act, would make it a “federal crime…for anyone knowingly and willfully to distribute into interstate commerce a product that is falsely labeled as maple syrup.” While falsely labeling a product should not go unpunished, there are ample criminal laws on the books to deal with the false labeling of maple syrup. The real threat raised by the MAPLE Act is not that of a shadowy syrup syndicate, but a U.S. Congress determined to expand the federal criminal law well beyond its intended limitations—the phenomenon known as overcriminalization.Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:48:00 -0500{483BF45B-1C03-44F9-B048-86ED4E15037C}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/reports/2011/10/dairy-security-act-would-milk-taxpayersDiane KatzThe Dairy Security Act would do little to reduce the onerous costs of subsidies and artificially inflated prices of dairy products.Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:40:00 -0400{D57CEE9C-88F9-4D37-B155-57921BF8E00D}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/reports/2011/05/saving-the-american-dream-the-heritage-plan-to-fix-the-debt-cut-spending-and-restore-prosperityStuart Butler, Ph.D., Alison Acosta Fraser, William BeachSaving the American Dream is The Heritage Foundation’s plan to fix the debt, cut spending and, above all, restore prosperity. It balances the nation’s budget within a decade—and keeps it balanced. It reduces the debt and cuts government in half. It eliminates government-mandated health care and fully funds our national defense. It squarely confronts Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, the three so-called entitlement programs, which together account for 43 percent of federal spending today.Tue, 10 May 2011 19:19:00 -0400{D8EAD359-DEA7-405D-9D10-B62809F5F309}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/reports/2011/04/by-any-other-name-energy-cuts-still-stinkDavid W. Kreutzer, Ph.D.Eighty-five percent of the energy that fuels the American economy is from coal, petroleum, and natural gas. An unavoidable by-product of burning these fuels is carbon dioxide (CO2). Analyses of the Waxman–Markey cap-and-trade bill make clear that CO2-reduction targets will not be met through increases in renewable energy production. So, cutting CO2 means cutting energy use; and cutting energy use means throttling economic growth. The President’s recently proposed clean-energy standard (CES) seeks cuts that are just as severe as those under Waxman–Markey.Thu, 07 Apr 2011 14:38:00 -0400{D7E4791A-52A1-46C4-8960-1CEDF00D06F2}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/commentary/2011/01/reform-farm-subsidiesBrian RiedlFarm subsidies are outdated, unnecessary and unaffordable. Some suggest the farm economy cannot function without subsidies. However, nearly all subsidies go to growers of just five crops: wheat, cotton, corn, soybeans and rice. By contrast, fruit, vegetable, livestock and poultry operations receive nearly nothing, yet produce two-thirds of the farm economy, with stable prices and healthy incomes. Why can't the Big Five crops function in the same free market? Others assert that subsidies alleviate farmer poverty. Setting aside the Norman Rockwell imagery, farm subsidies are America's largest corporate welfare program. Congress targets most subsidies toward large commercial farmers, who report an average annual income of about $200,000 — well exceeding the national average. The real problem is that farmers' incomes fluctuate due to crop and weather unpredictability. This can be solved inexpensively with Farmer Savings Accounts and improved crop insurance. Government-wide spending reforms are needed to balance the budget. Farm subsidies deserve no special exemption.Sun, 09 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0500{4081E55F-E014-4104-BFEE-CAC21F92D0FF}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/reports/2010/11/new-fda-powers-the-wrong-remedy-for-a-phony-crisisDiane KatzGranting vast new powers to the Food and Drug Administration would raise the cost of food but would not increase consumer protection.Wed, 17 Nov 2010 10:18:00 -0500{FF4D958F-2F85-471D-B47A-20438BD7902E}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/reports/2010/10/the-2010-index-of-dependence-on-governmentWilliam Beach, Patrick TyrrellThe number of Americans who pay taxes continues to shrink—and the United States is close to the point at which half of the population will not pay taxes for government benefits they receive. In 2009, 64.3 million Americans depended on the government (read: their fellow citizens) for their daily housing, food, and health care. Starting in 2015, the Social Security program will not receive enough taxes to pay all the promised benefits—which will be hard for all job-holders, but devastating for roughly half the American workforce that has no other retirement program. Add in last year's preposterously named American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, spiraling academic grants, flat-out farm socialism, the swelling ranks of Americans who believe themselves entitled to "free" government benefits—and now the government takeover of the nation's health care system—and the very nature of this country's republican form of government is called into question. Like they have been doing since 2002, Heritage Foundation policy experts lay out the increasingly gloomy facts. Can Americans pull back from the brink of complete dependence on government?Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:28:00 -0400{6CD0CF3D-0733-4224-89D2-5E044A05762D}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/reports/2010/06/the-2010-index-of-dependence-on-government-dramatic-spike-in-dependence-projectedWilliam Beach, Patrick TyrrellYear after year, The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Dependence on Government documents the ever-growing number of federal aid programs and the ever-growing number of Americans who rely on government subsidies for their existence. The number of Americans who now pay no taxes has passed 35 percent. The International Monetary Fund predicts financial devastation for the U.S. by 2015 unless drastic cuts are made in the deficit immediately, and Congress has lost control of the national budget. An impending tipping point for the structure of American government and civil society is tangible. Following are preliminary estimates for the upcoming 2010 Index of Dependence on Government that all Americans should heed.Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:58:00 -0400{1CBE1B2A-AC12-4EF8-AA43-F90A511FEC5A}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/reports/2010/04/epas-global-warming-regulations-a-threat-to-american-agricultureBen LiebermanThe EPA's anti-agriculture global warming policy would make the future for American farming even dicier.Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:42:00 -0400{BC3B5697-413E-4D15-88B5-96A66D38BA74}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/reports/2010/02/brazilian-retaliation-against-us-trade-violations-a-signal-for-reformDaniella MarkheimThe Administration has announced its intention to root out the unfair trade practices of other nations, but such enforcement efforts will fall flat until America cleans up its own approach to trade.Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0500{10E4BF13-415D-421C-BA99-2A909AF0546A}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/reports/2009/07/waxman-markey-homeowners-small-businesses-and-farmers-hit-the-hardestBen LiebermanThe Heritage Foundation calculates that, by 2035, America would be$9.4 trillion poorer with Waxman-Markey than without it. This is a tremendous burden and one that is not spread evenly.Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:00:00 -0400{71630DE2-5310-4311-9082-DA9DB9968D09}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/reports/2009/06/ag-jobs-amnesty-the-wrong-way-to-help-american-agricultureJena Baker McNeillProving genuine assistance to farmers and other agricultural sectors is important. Amnesty, however, is the wrong answer.Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:00:00 -0400{A88E9B86-A068-44CB-863F-0F209E154C6E}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/commentary/2009/04/farmer-bailouts-must-be-revisedStuart Butler, Ph.D.Megabillion-dollar bailouts are in today's headlines. But let's not forget the longest-running bailout of all - the roughly $25 billion subsidy showered annually on just some of America's farmers.Fri, 10 Apr 2009 01:00:00 -0400{756EE020-13B8-44B0-8378-05F60084C8F5}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/reports/2008/12/us-farm-policy-subsidizing-poor-healthPatrick JohnsonThe law of unintended consequences holds that even well intentioned policies can have adverse effects.Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0500{2D80373E-C1C1-4027-94C4-3AC7380A6FA4}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/reports/2008/06/addressing-the-global-food-crisisBrett Schaefer, Ben Lieberman, Brian RiedlMeasures to deal with the food crisis should include eliminating the artificial demand created by ethanol and other biofuel mandates, making food assistance more effective and efficient, eliminating agricultural trade barriers and subsidies worldwide, loosening restrictions on exploiting U.S. oil and gas reserves, and encouraging the development of genetically modified crops that are better suited to Africa and other famine-prone regions.Thu, 26 Jun 2008 01:00:00 -0400{48E9579B-6676-457E-8DE8-1CD59EC417DA}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/commentary/2008/05/an-unacceptable-farm-billBrian RiedlWith food prices soaring, it takes some gall to force Americans to pay billions of dollars to millionaire agribusinesses. Yet that’s what the latest farm bill would do.Wed, 21 May 2008 01:00:00 -0400{4B4E4458-6A79-4891-A816-4F2E5D01AD54}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/reports/2008/05/seven-reasons-to-veto-the-farm-billBrian RiedlSince the enactment of the last farm bill in 2002, crop prices and net farm income have more than doubled. Yet the new farm bill would expand the $25 billion farm-subsidy system by raising payment ratesand creating new subsidies. President Bush should veto Congress'sattempt to increase the budget deficit in order to financeadditional farm subsidies.Mon, 12 May 2008 01:00:00 -0400{9D44EB3E-1EDB-41F8-A71D-E74920CF49C0}http://www.heritage.org/sitecore/content/home/research/commentary/2008/04/liberals-push-big-spend-farm-and-budget-measuresBrian DarlingThu, 10 Apr 2008 01:00:00 -0400