News Summary

• Farming is one of the most heavily subsidized industries in America.
• Each year, Congress allocates billions to keep crops in the ground, cushioning the blow from droughts, floods, fires and market swings.
• But in flood- and drought-prone parts of the country, those programs can also keep people hanging on, even when it makes more sense to walk away.
• After the 2019 flood, Congress allocated only about $217 million spread across 11 states to pay farmers to voluntarily retire their flood-ravaged fields.