Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
16000
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U.S. Corn Production (million bushels)
U.S. Corn Yields (bushels per acre)
Figure 6.1 US Corn Production and Yields
Source
: Economic Research Service, “Corn: Background,” July 17, 2013, accessed July 23,
most respected agricultural economists, concluded that farm
subsidies really play a very small role in shaping the behavior
of farmers.
A wide range of models is consistent in yielding fairly
small output effects . . . from U.S. commodity pro-
grams. . . . Comparisons . . . provide no support for the
idea that commodity programs have made a difference
[in the amount of agricultural production].
—Bruce L. Gardner,
American Agriculture in the
Twentieth Century: How It Flourished and What It Cost
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002), 347-48.
Other economists analyzing more recent policies continue
to find that the subsidies have little impact on how much farm-
ers produce. The Federal Crop Insurance program has some
effects, but they are very modest. Those who analyze the
effect of decoupled farm subsidies (where farmers are given a
