Seeds of Doubt
What do farmers want from Congress in the 1990 farm bill? Don't ask them.
According to a poll taken by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, 42 percent back the elimination of all government support programs for farmers, and 62 percent would go along with an international phaseout of all farm subsidies. But 56 percent want higher government price supports.
Still more paradoxically, a majority favor "strict production controls" to raise farm prices. But they oppose reductions in acreage—the main way to control production.
The poll also revealed that 78 percent of farmers complain that the rest of us have little or no understanding of their needs. We wonder why.
This article originally appeared in print under the headline "Seeds of Doubt."
