When the American government unveiled a new style of farm subsidy in 1996, it was wrapped in the rhetoric of free trade. Nicknamed Freedom to Farm, the program was to wean producers from subsidies and make them more aware of world market prices.
Instead, the opposite has occurred. American farmers depend more than ever on subsidies, ignore price signals, and add to the glut in grain markets.
Freedom to Farm comes to an end next year. But Canadian grain farmers seeking freedom from depressed prices shouldn’t look south.
Winnipeg reporter Roberta Rampton recently traveled to Washington, D.C. and found the next farm program will likely be even more generous.
