Why Did You Publish Farm Subsidy Data Online?

Thanks for asking. This is a question we spent a lot of time thinking about. We remember when an environmentally oriented lobbying organization published Farm Subsidy data back in 2001. It was interesting to some. But down right appalling to others.

Is "it" in the best interest of Producers? That is our litmus test for every major decision we make at Your Farm^SM. Our conclusion was "yes" on whether publishing Subsidy data was in the producers best interest. Following is a summary of how we arrived at that decision.

1. The data is about Producers—and if you are a producer, the data is about you. We believe you should have access to it.
   
   

2. The data is being used to influence farm policy legislation.

   Like it or not, we operate in a political world and lobbying organizations exist to alter policy. Some have ceased upon publicly available farm subsidy data and worked to shape that data to justify their agendas. The data that we have published is publicly available as it was released by FSA December 19, 2006. (That’s how we received it.)

   At Your Farm, we are certain that other organizations will be publishing this information in the near term. And, to put it mildly, their agendas are not necessarily in sync with what is best for participants in production agriculture. There is no question that farm subsidy data is being used to influence farm policy legislation. As our agenda is to serve and look out for Producers, we felt it incumbent upon us to provide a venue for the discussion of these important matters. Publishing the 1614 Database information was the first step in creating this venue.

3. We believe strongly that perspectives other than those propagated by non-Agricultural constituencies need to be brought to the table.
   
   

   While making policy is not our objective at Your Farm, connecting producers, industry leaders, ideas and information is. The farm subsidy database is one such piece of information.

   We’re passionate about agriculture. We think farm families are the finest people in the world. And we don’t pull any punches—if you’re a producer, we are on your side. We are not looking for farm program handouts. We’re business people and we’re farmers.

   Our pledge is simple. Your Farm will provide a platform where the voices of producers and Ag industry leaders can be expressed and heard. We’ll provide the venue. We invite you to join the discussion.