Summary of Failed Farm and Food Policies and SOLUTIONS E 25 | The Government Mechanic

The Government Mechanic

Episode 25 summarizes problems and solutions for farming, ranching, fishing and

America’s food supply in Episodes 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. The first lesson is that USDA -- the

US Department of Agriculture -- policies are consistently horrible, with destructive

impacts on family-owned farms, ranches, fisheries and their small communities.

For example, the USDA sets the price of milk below what it costs the dairy farmer to

produce that milk. The numbers are clear: In the 1970s, we had 770,000 dairy farms; in

2024 we had 36,184. Our founding fathers were farmers, food producers and food

distributors. Today, corruption and bias toward industrial farming, ranching and fishing

has changed the character of our heartland, of our nation, of America. The US

Department of Agriculture, created by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862. He

considered USDA the People’s Department, that would follow and support the interests

of farmers and farming communities.

The episode started with two clips from Brenda Cochran talking about how farmers are

left out of farm policymaking and how policies favor big corporations, so small farmers,

ranchers and fishers get really hurt. Dr. Kahn reminded listeners and viewers that USDA

sets the price of milk below what costs the farmer to produce that milk, then takes

money out of the famer’s milk check through mandated “check offs” to support research

on non-dairy beverages! The next clip from Marty Irby described the loss of family-

owned ranches leading to the rise of a few, powerful food corporations, which is called

market concentration. The good news is non-profits are learning how to lobby

Congress for change. In the final clip, Niaz Dorry describes bringing the views of hands-

on food producers to the policy and decision-making table and building alliances across

organizations.

Dr. Kahn spent the rest of the episode talking about SOLUIONS and what consumers

can do, such as:

 Don't take food for granted.

 Buy local, be knowledgeable about local foods.

 Be aware, read labels.

 Find out what is served in schools, go to local school board meetings.

 Be policy aware.

 Make your voice count: Know who your state and Washington DC

representatives are. Go see them, call congress, send letters, call the White

House 202-224-3121, send emails.

 Systems change needed – should we re-institute parity laws? How do we invite

small farmers, ranchers and fishers at legislative and administrative law level?

How do USDA and Land Grant Universities stop defining success only as

economies of scale.