Eleven Fun Facts About the Farm Bill
From organic agriculture to nutrition programs, the Farm Bill covers a range of subjects.
1) Date in September 2012 that the current Farm Bill expires: 30
2) Amount, in billions of dollars, of the proposed new five-year bill: 500
3) Amount, in billions of dollars, saved over 10 years (the period used for cost calculations) by cuts to farm subsidies and conservation and nutrition programs: 23
4) Percent of 2012 Farm Bill spending that would go to food stamps and other nutrition programs: 79
5) Percent that would go to crop insurance and to corn and other commodity crops: 14
6) Percent that would go to conservation programs: 6
7) Percent of commodity program subsidy payments that currently go to corn, wheat, soybeans, cotton, and rice: 90
8) Acres of U.S. cropland—40 percent of total land: 406,424,909
9) Acres of farmland in conservation or wetland reserve programs as of 2007: 38,547,450
10) Acres of cropland used for fruit, vegetables, and nuts: 10,541,947
11) Acres dedicated to organic agriculture as of 2008: 4,815,959