France is overhauling its ag policies big time.
Paris announced that from next year it would confiscate over 20 per cent of the billions of euros of European taxpayers’ money paid to its ranch-like cereals farms and divert the cash to hill farmers, grazing land, shepherds and organic agriculture.
The announcement brings to an end almost half-a-century of official hypocrisy in which French governments have talked about protecting “family farms” and “quality food” but allowed the bulk of European largesse to flow to chemical-assisted, hedge-free, cereals-ranching in northern, central and eastern France.
Obviously the free market types will decry any subsidies, but I think there is a good argument that the same policy should be executed in the US. I think it goes something like, small farms have a positive externality, so we should subsidize them. Anyways, time for Tom Vilsack to step up. Yesterday’s news was a good sign.
