Among them are tax incentives for biodiesel and renewable diesel, a five-year depreciation for farming business machinery and equipment, and a number of other tax deductions that farmers and ranchers rely on to manage cash flow.
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The Sacramento Bee reports three republican senators have complained that a U.S.D.A. effort to educate the public about where food comes from slights conventional farmers.
Senators Pat Roberts of Kansas, John McCain of Arizona and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia say the U.S.D.A. program targets small, hobbyist and organic producers whose customers are generally affluent people at urban farmers markets.
Last year, the U.S.D.A. spent $65-million on the program which provided grants to farmers markets in Kansas and California, crop productivity in Missouri and Alaska, and organic agriculture research in North Carolina and Washington state.
But the senators say the U.S.D.A. is forgetting about conventional farms which provide the bulk of the food in the U.S.
