The Latest from AgMag

New Data Sheds Light on Federal Farm Subsidies

Monday, September 21, 2009

CNN Anderson Cooper 360, Joe Johns
Published June 11, 2007

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Sen. Feingold Introduces Small Farmer, Taxpayer, Water Resource Protection Bill

Monday, September 21, 2009

US Fed News

Published May 24, 2005

The office of Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., issued the following press release: Sen. Russ Feingold has introduced legislation that could help save $2.5 billion over the next five years.

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Pay Dirt

Monday, September 21, 2009

Dan Rather Reports

Aired on November 20, 2007

Episode Title: Pay Dirt: Subsidies and the American Farmer

Description: Some farmers are worried that huge subsides are a waste. A visit to the backwaters of Burma and taming Louisiana's wetlands

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Report Criticizes Water Subsidies

Monday, September 21, 2009

Sacramento Bee, Jim Wasserman

Published August 1, 2005

A national environmental group critical of farm subsidies said Tuesday that more than 1,200 Central Valley farms received federally subsidized water to grow subsidized crops in 2002.

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Sowing Seeds of Victory

Monday, September 21, 2009

Roll Call, Anna Palmer

Published July 7, 2008

Dressed in a dark pinstripe suit with a blue striped shirt and tie, John Boyd Jr. looks the part of Washington insider.

Key Issues:

Farm Policy

Valley Farms 'Double Dipping' Subsidies

Monday, September 21, 2009

Fresno Bee, Dennis Pollock and Robert Rodriguez

Published August 2, 2005

Many farms in California's Central Valley Water Project are "double dipping" in taxpayer pockets by using subsidized water to grow subsidized crops, a watchdog group charged Tuesday.

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With Water in Mind

Monday, September 21, 2009

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Published September 18, 2006

The idea that agriculture has become a major source of pollution in the Mississippi River will startle many Midwesterners. But it's no surprise to the government's top environmental regulators.

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Study: Calif. Farms Get Millions in Federal Water and Crop Subsidies

Monday, September 21, 2009

Associated Press, Terence Chea

Published August 2, 2005

Some of California's largest farms receive millions of dollars in federal subsidies by "double dipping" - using government-subsidized water to grow subsidized crops such as rice and cotton, according to a watchdog group's analysis.

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Farm Subsidies Lead to Ocean Pollution, Researchers Say

Monday, September 21, 2009

New Standard, Jessica Azulay

Published April 11, 2006

Every summer, a huge swell of algae spreads through the Gulf of Mexico and then dies, smothering aquatic life in its wake. Scientists have documented this expanding "dead zone" since the early 1970s, finding that in recent years it has grown to an average of 14,000 square miles of ocean.

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EWG Says California Growers Double-Dipping on Subsidies

Monday, September 21, 2009

Agriculture Online

Published August 2, 2005

The Environmental Working Group today released the results of a computer study that looked at federal crop and water subsidies to California's Central Valley Project. The group says some of America's richest agribusinesses are "double dipping" from US taxpayers' pockets at a rate of hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Key Issues:

Farm Policy

Small percentage of rural counties contribute to fertilizer pollution

Monday, September 21, 2009

Chicago Tribune, Andrew Martin

Published April 9, 2006

A new study on Monday found that a relatively small percentage of rural counties – many of them in Illinois – are contributing most of the fertilizer pollution that is creating a summertime “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, where massive algae blooms snuff out most aquatic life.

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Assessing the Effect of Taxes on the Economy

Monday, September 21, 2009

San Francisco Chronicle, Bill Walker

Published August 18, 2005

Let's say you own a factory that makes titanium widgets. You make more widgets than people need, so the government buys your surplus at a guaranteed profit. That's generous.

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Farm Policy

New EWG Analysis Says Nitrogen Pollution a Fixable Problem

Monday, September 21, 2009

Farm Futures, Jacqui Fatka

Published April 9, 2006

Nitrate pollution in the Mississippi River Basin is a growing problem, creating a Dead Zone downstream for marine wildlife. A new analysis from the Environmental Working Group shows that the problem is more solvable than it ever has looked before if the federal government begins to focus conservation needs in the trouble area.

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Study: Contaminated Water Consumed

Monday, September 21, 2009

Associated Press, John Heilprin

Published January 8, 2002

Key Issues:

Toxics

Tap Water

California Farms Get Electricity Subsidy

Monday, September 21, 2009

Associated Press (+ 60 outlets), Garance Burke

Published May 29, 2007

Some of the nation's largest farming operations are paying rock-bottom rates for the electricity they use to pump federally subsidized water to their fields.

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Report: Fertilizer is killing Gulf fish

Monday, September 21, 2009

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Nancy Cole

Published April 10, 2006

Farmers in 15 northeast Arkansas counties are among the top contributors of fertilizer pollution that creates a "dead zone" of more than 5, 000 square miles in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a study released Monday by the Environmental Working Group.

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Millions tap into dirty water

Monday, September 21, 2009

USA Today, Michelle Healy
Published January 9, 2002

Millions of Americans have been drinking tap water contaminated with chemical byproducts from chlorine that are far more than what studies suggest may be safe for pregnant women, two environmental groups say in a study. Chlorine is commonly used to disinfect drinking water. When it is added to water that contains organic matter such as runoff from farms or lawns, however, it can form compounds such as chloroform that can cause illness.

Key Issues:

Toxics