Feb. 28, 2026

Farm Subsidies: Protect Farmers, Fix the System

Farm Subsidies: Protect Farmers, Fix the System
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In this episode of World of Payne, we take on one of the most misunderstood issues in America: agriculture and farm subsidies—and we do it with the framing the country desperately needs right now: pro-farmer, pro-food security, and relentlessly anti-corruption. Let’s get this straight from the start: farmers are the foundation, not the villain. Food isn’t a luxury. It’s national stability. It’s cost of living. It’s local economies. It’s the difference between a country that can stand on its own and a country that becomes dependent when global shocks hit. Farm safety-net programs often begin with good intentions—stabilize production, protect communities from collapse, and keep food supply reliable. But when systems grow too large, too complex, and too political, a new problem shows up: waste, loopholes, and back-room influence. And that rot doesn’t just hurt taxpayers—it hurts honest farmers first, because it destroys public trust and turns rural America into a political punching bag. This episode walks through the full moral and economic reality:
We cover how citizens benefit, the hidden costs and market distortions, the places fraud and abuse patterns tend to appear, and why enforcement can be weak when politics and influence get involved. Then we shift hard into the solutions: reduce administrative waste, tighten loopholes without punishing honest operators, modernize oversight, increase transparency, and cut off regulatory capture. Finally, we ask the big question: is there a way out—can subsidies ever be reduced—or are stabilization tools a permanent reality in a serious nation that wants food independence? We end with a message the entire country needs: compassion and accountability can coexist. Respect for farmers and zero tolerance for corruption can coexist. Because this isn’t about left versus right—it’s about right versus wrong. Sponsor: ValorBuilt Apparel — integrity, community, responsibility, and purchases that stand for more than what arrives at your door.

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WEBVTT

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Before we talk about money, we talk about meaning, because

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if you start this whole conversation on spreadsheets, you will

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miss the entire soul of it. And agriculture is not

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just an issue. It's a covenant between the land, the people,

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and the nation. America doesn't run on speeches. America runs

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on the people who do the unglamorous work that never trends,

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never goes viral, and never gets danked. And the farmer

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is at the center of that quiet engine. There are

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families in this country who live by that calendar in

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a way most people can't imagine. Not the calendar on

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your phone, the calendar written in the frost and the

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heat and the rain and the wind, the calendar where

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a week of delay isn't inconvenient, it could be catastrophic.

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Some people think food is a product. Farmers know food

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is a promise, and that promise starts long before the

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store lights come on and the aisles look full. It

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starts with rain. Real risk, the risk where you can

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do everything right and still loose, the kind of risk

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where you can be disciplined, skilled, smart and hard working

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and still get humbled. And it's not just a business risk,

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it's a family risk. It's a legacy risk. It's the

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weight of a name on a mailbox that has been

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there longer than most corporations have even existed. When you

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meet farmers up close, you learn something real fast. They're

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not asking for a crown. They're asking for a fair

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shot surviving forces they don't control. They don't control global

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commodity pricing. They don't control sudden trade disruptions, and they

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don't control input spikes that hit like a hammer. They

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don't control the drought, flood disease, or a spring that

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refuses to act like a spring. And when a farmer loses,

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it's not just a personal tragedy. It ripples through a

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whole rural system. It hits the local bank, it hits

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the local seed dealer, it hits the fuel supplier, it

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hits the parts counter in the service department, and the

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local diner in the school. That's what most political arguments miss.

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They treat a farm like a line item. But a

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farm is a community anchor. So I'm going to set

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the tone tonight with respect, because if you're listening and

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you work the land, you deserve at least that. If

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you're listening and you don't work the land. You still

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benefit from the people that do. Now here's the hard

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truth that makes people uncomfortable. Government programs often begin with

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good intentions, but they don't stay pure, not when the

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money gets big, not when the rules get complicated, not

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when the politicians realize they can use a program as

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a lever to get what they want when they want it.

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Every time a program grows, two things show up. Bureaucracy

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shows up to manage it, and opportunists show up to

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exploit it. That doesn't mean the program is evil. It

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means the program is human, and human, especially powerful humans,

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will push any system until it bends towards them. So

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tonight is not a farmer bashing episode. I'm not here

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to talk cheap. I'm not here to pretend the people

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feeding the nation are the number one problem, or a

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problem at all. The episode is about the system that

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is around them, the system that was built to stabilize

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but can be twisted to advantage, the system that honest

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farmers navigate in good faith while insiders always look for angles.

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And if you care about farmers, you should want that

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system cleaned up. Because corruption doesn't just steal money, it

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steals the public's trust. When public trust collapses, support for

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those bills and programs collapse with it. And as those

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support beams collapse, policy swings hard and fast. And when

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policy swings, it never gets the insider who took advantage

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of it. They're never the ones crushed first. It's the

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family that doesn't have a lobbyist. It's the operator who's

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already stretching every penny they have. It's the young producer

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who's trying to get started, staring at rent prices, staring

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at the equipment costs, and wondering how this is all

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ever going to be possible for him to do the

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thing that he wants to that he loves. So the

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moral framework is simple. We honor farmers, we protect our

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food security, and we demand stewardship of taxpayer dollars without

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turning farmers into the scapegoats. Because the enemy is not

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the man in the field or the man and the tractor.

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It's the enemy is the rot in the room where

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these rules, these policies are written. And you can love

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rural America without refusing to be the one who refuses

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to tolerate corruption. That's the line tonight. We need to

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respect the farmers and have zero patience for political games.

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We need to respect America while being against the coruption

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that we see every day. Now, I want you to

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close your eyes for a second and picture the invisible

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chain that feeds you. Don't look at the grocery store.

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Don't don't imagine the grocery store. We're gonna go beyond that.

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Let's go to the first link. Let's picture a cold morning,

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a yard light, boots hitting the frozen ground. Picture a

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shop door opening, a tractor starting, a truck getting loaded,

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a feed line running, a calving check, a fence repair,

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A plan for the day that doesn't change all that much,

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but it can change the second the weather changes. Now,

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picture the opposite. Picture a nation that loses its ability

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to feed itself reliably, not fully, not overnight, but slowly.

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First it's price spikes and its shortages in certain categories.

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Then it's dependents on imports that we cannot control. Then

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it's a vulnerability that foreign powers understand better than we do.

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Food is not just consumer spending. Food is stability. Food

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is peace. Food is a nation's ability to breathe without

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asking for permission with every breath. That's why agriculture gets

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special attention in policy, not because farmers are fragile, but

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because food is foundational to life, and any serious country

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treats foundational things differently by the way we've done it

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over time and things have become complicated. Agriculture support is

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not just one program. It's a patchwork of tools, each

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created by an address to address a real problem, and

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then reshaped by politics and layered with rules, exceptions, negotiations.

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And here's where a lot of Americans get confused. They

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hear farm subsidies and they imagine a single check with

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a simple explanation, especially all the ones that were in

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this last bill. That's not the reality. There are tools

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meant to protect against crop failure, revenue collapse, rules meant

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to help producers manage disasters that are bigger than any

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one operation. There are tools that are meant to protect

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soil and water because stewardship is not optional if you

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want to farm for generations. And there are political habits,

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habits where emergency becomes a permanent category because it's easier

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to write a check than to fix the structure at

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the heart of it all. So what's the purpose? At

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its best? Farm support exists to stabilize food production. Smooth

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volatility prevent the kind of collapse that wipes out communities

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and spikes the consumer costs. But at its best, it

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gives a good operator a chance to survive a bad

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year without losing everything. But here's the danger. When the

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system gets too complex, too predictable, and too influenced by insiders,

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it stops being a safety net. It starts becoming a

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strategy to abuse. And I want to say this carefully

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because I work around these people. I work around farmers.

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Most farmers don't see it as a strategy. They see

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it as a lifeline. They pray that they don't need

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and paperwork that they don't they hope they don't have

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to fill out. But the biggest players in any system

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will always hire smart people to optimize it. That's not

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unique to agriculture. That's just America. That's subsidized America. The

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difference is agriculture is one area we can't afford to

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let the public trust implode. Because if public trust collapses,

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the backlash won't hurt the lobbyist, it'll hurt the producers

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and the consumers. So this episode is part of a

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larger series for a reason. This is the first episode

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that is actually on YouTube and video. The rest of

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them are going to be on audio only, so you're

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gonna have to check out Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Speaker.

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But it's part of a larger series for a reason,

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because subsidies aren't just spending. Subsidies are power. They shape markets,

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They shape who survive, they shape who grows and who

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gets squeezed out, and over time they shape what kind

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of country that we end up becoming. This is not

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an episode for cheap shots. This is an episode for

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grown ups, for people who can honor the farmer and

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still demand clean government. So here's the thesis, clear and unmovable.

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This episode is about where money goes, who it helps,

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who it hurts, and how we do better. And do

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better does not mean burn it down. It means clean

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it up. It means make it worthy of the people

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it's supposed to protect. Let's talk about the phrase people

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throw around like it's nothing, a bad year and farming.

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A bad year isn't a rough quarter. It can be

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a crater. A bad year can mean you planted on

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time and the rain didn't come, or the rain came,

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but it came all at once and washed your plan

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right off the map. A bad year can mean prices

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fell while your inputs doubled, and suddenly the math just

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doesn't tighten, it snaps. And here's what outsiders meant. A

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farm isn't a little cash business. You can't just go

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out and buy inventory and sell it next week. A

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farm is a massive delayed return operation where you spend

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big upfront and wait months to find out if the

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return even exists. That means the stress is different. You

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don't just feel it when you lose. You feel it

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when you're still spending, still fueling, still fixing, still spraying,

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still feeding, while the sky looks wrong and the markets

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look worse. The farmer's mind is not just on the yield.

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It's on timing. It's on logistics, it's on depth service.

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It's on whether the operating line holds. It's on the

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sick feeling of knowing you're doing everything you can and

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the outcome still might not care. This is why the

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public often misreads farm finances. A farmer might gross a

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big number but still be barely breathing because gross is

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not net profit, and agriculture is a capital heavy business

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in a way that most people will never even live

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through never even imagine. Equipment is expensive because the work

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is time sensitive. You don't harvest when it's convenient, You

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harvest when it's ready before you lose it all. And

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if you miss your window, you just lose a lot.

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You don't lose time, you lose quality, yield money. Land

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is expensive because it's the base of production. Without land,

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you don't have anywhere to plant your crops, to have

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your cows, your livestock grays. You don't have the basis

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for everything. Inputs are expensive because they're tied to global

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supply chains, and interest is expensive because it doesn't care

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about your weather. So when people say why should anyone

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get any support, you have to answer with reality not ideology.

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Reality says food is foundational, Reality says agriculture carries unique volatility,

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and reality also says something else. Most farmers do not

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want dependency. They want stability that lets them stay independent.

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They want to solve problems with work and not politics.

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They want to be paid fairly by the market, not

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managed by the government. And when they do interact with programs,

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they want clarity, not confusion. That's a conservative principle. By

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the way, clarity over bureaucracy local strength and centralized control.

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And this is where people need to think deeper. A

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safety net is not automatically anti conservative. A safety net

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can be a conservative tool if it protects national security,

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prevents cascading collapse, and is built with discipline in mind.

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The problem is not help exists. The problem is when

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help becomes a platform for insiders. The problem is when

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help becomes a substitute for reform. The problem is when

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help becomes a tool for political leverage and backroom advantage.

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Because conservative principles aren't just about cutting checks or cutting budgets.

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Conservative principles are about stewardship and respecting the taxpayer and

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respecting the producer at the same time. Stewardship says, we

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protect the foundation, but we don't tolerate the rot that happens.

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Stewardship says we stabilize what's essential, but we don't build

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a maze. Only the powerful can navigate. Stewardship says, we

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do the right thing, even if it's hard, not the

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easy thing, the corrupt way. And here's the most important

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point for tonight's tone. It is possible to honor farmers

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deeply while still criticizing the program's architecture around them. It

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is possible to be pro farmer and anti corruption all

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at the same time. In fact, if you're not anti corruption,

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you're not pro farmer, because corruption uses uses farmers as coverage,

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Corruption hides behind agriculture's good name, and corruption sets up

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the honest majority to take the blame when the public

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finally gets fed up. Now let's zoom out to the

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citizen again. Citizens benefit from farm stability even when they

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don't even recognize it. They benefit when supply doesn't collapse

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after a regional disaster. They benefit when a rural economies

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remain alive enough to keep infrastructure running. They benefit when

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domestic productions stays strong enough the global disruptions don't turn

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into panic at home. They benefit from resilience of the

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countryside because resilience is not just a rural value, it's

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a national value. A fragile food system makes a fragile nation,

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no matter how many speeches are made about strength, which

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is ironic because I'm actually recording this on the night

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of Donald Trump's State of the Union address. So, yes,

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there is a legitimate public interest case for subsidization tools

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and stabilization. Yes, there's a legitimate national security case for

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food independence, and yes, there's a legitimate community case for

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keeping rural America alive. But now we have to talk

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about the tension that comes with that legitimacy, because even

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legitimate support can create unintended consequences. Even well meant stabilization

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can distort the market. And the question is not do

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farmers deserve the respect, because they definitely do. The question

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is does the structure of these programs create winners and

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losers in ways that have nothing to do with stewardship.

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And that's where we go in segment two. Here's the

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line that changes the whole conversation. Every subsidy is an incentive,

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even when it's justified, it's still shapes behavior. And incentives

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are not moral statements. They are forces. They pull on

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decision making, they pull on markets, and they pull on

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what survives over time. So we're not going to do

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the cheap thing and say support equals laziness. That's not

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only disrespectful, it's inaccurate. We're going to do the serious

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thing and ask what happens to a market when certain

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supports become expected. When a program is stable and predictable,

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people plan around it. That's not corruption. That's normal planning.

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But over time, planning becomes pricing. And when planning becomes pricing,

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the support gets baked into land rents and land values.

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That's where the distortion becomes real. Not because farmers are greedy,

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but because the markets absorb expectations like a sponge. So

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a young producer walks into a world where the cost

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base is higher than he imagined or she imagined, not

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just because of inflation, but because the system has normalized

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certain safety nets and certain assumptions. That young producer isn't

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fighting the older farmers. They're fighting a structure, and a

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structure where capital and scale often win, not because they're evil,

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but because they can survive volatility longer. This is how

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consolidation creeps without anyone announcing it. It doesn't have to

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be a conspiracy. It can be a slow pressure that

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nudges the system towards whoever can spread across more acres

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and more enterprises. Now let's be careful here. Scale can

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be legitimate. Some large farms are simply efficient, discipline and

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extremely well run. But the question is whether policy adds

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00:17:19.160 --> 00:17:22.640
extra weight to the scale, causing it an advantage. Whether

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the rule but quietly rewards the ability to hire specialists

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and optimize participation, whether the paperwork itself becomes a competitive weapon,

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Because once paperwork becomes a weapon, the most productive player

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isn't always the best farmer. Sometimes it's the best administrator.

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Sometimes it's the people with the best lawyers or the

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best lobbyists. And that's where conservative alarm bells should ring.

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When a system awards proximity to power, it stops being

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a market system. It becomes a managed system with market costumes.

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Administrative overhead is another hidden cost people don't feel directly,

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00:18:02.039 --> 00:18:06.039
not because the cost of offices and staffing, but because

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00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:11.079
the cost of delays, confusion, appeals, verification, and rule chasing.

285
00:18:11.319 --> 00:18:15.799
All that friction is paid somewhere by someone eventually, and

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00:18:15.880 --> 00:18:18.960
farmers pay part of it in time. Time spent in

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00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:22.400
forms is time not spent on production. Time spent on

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00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:26.119
compliance is time not spent on maintenance, management, or even

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00:18:26.200 --> 00:18:29.480
in their family. Small and mid sized operators feel that

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00:18:29.559 --> 00:18:33.000
burden differently. They don't have a department for it. They

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00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:35.400
have a kitchen table. They have a spouse trying to

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00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:38.720
keep the book straight while raising kids. They have nights

293
00:18:38.759 --> 00:18:41.400
spent on paperwork after the work is done, they have

294
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stress that doesn't show up in yield maps, but shows

295
00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:47.799
up in their health. So when we talk about waste,

296
00:18:48.039 --> 00:18:53.240
don't just imagine dollars evaporating in Washington. Imagine hours evaporating

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00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:57.000
in rural homes. Because a complex system costs the country

298
00:18:57.160 --> 00:19:02.240
and human bandwidth. Now, let's talk about risk, because this matters.

299
00:19:02.440 --> 00:19:06.039
When risk is subsidized, it can change what risk feels like.

300
00:19:06.599 --> 00:19:09.359
Not for the honest farmer who still sweats the weather

301
00:19:09.640 --> 00:19:12.400
and the markets every day, but at the system level,

302
00:19:12.599 --> 00:19:17.960
subsidized risk can encourage certain expansions, certain leverage, certain decisions

303
00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:21.680
that might not happen if it were priced different. This

304
00:19:21.799 --> 00:19:26.000
is not an accusation, This is a recognition of human behavior.

305
00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:30.079
If the downside is soften, people push the edge more often,

306
00:19:30.680 --> 00:19:33.960
and when enough people push the edge, the system's normal

307
00:19:34.279 --> 00:19:36.960
shifts and that no longer becomes the edge. Now the

308
00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:40.160
market baseline is built around a higher leverage and higher

309
00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:45.519
cost structures. Now the entire countryside becomes more sensitive to shocks,

310
00:19:45.640 --> 00:19:49.400
so the irony is brutal. A program designed to stabilize can,

311
00:19:49.640 --> 00:19:53.839
over time contribute to fragility. If it helps normalize risk,

312
00:19:53.880 --> 00:19:57.799
your structures that doesn't mean the program should vanish. It

313
00:19:57.880 --> 00:20:01.440
means it should be designed with humilia and discipline. Now

314
00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:04.200
let's talk about the most poisonous distortion of all time,

315
00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:09.119
political randomness. When support is delivered through ad hoc packages,

316
00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:13.160
political timing, and critic and crisis optics, it trains the

317
00:20:13.200 --> 00:20:16.440
system to infest an influence. It trains the system to

318
00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:19.720
treat Washington like a rainfall pattern. That's where the real

319
00:20:19.799 --> 00:20:25.200
corruption risk grows, because when influence becomes profitable, lobbying becomes

320
00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:28.640
an input cost, just like fertilizer, and the farmers who

321
00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:33.119
can't afford that input get out competed by paper power

322
00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:36.599
and not field skill. That is why when I say

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00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:41.640
market distortions, I'm not just talking about the actual markets,

324
00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:45.319
the commodity markets. Not farmers are cheating, but politics is

325
00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:48.319
bending the playing field. Now, we need to talk about

326
00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:51.559
the middle class taxpayer without turning us into a farmer

327
00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:55.640
versus taxpayer fight, because the political class wants that fight.

328
00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:59.039
They want you versus the farmer. They want you yelling

329
00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:01.640
at each other when nobody looks at the rule book.

330
00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:09.039
The taxpayer deserves stewardship, The taxpayer deserves transparency. The taxpayer

331
00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:13.240
deserves proof that dollars are that are meant for stabilization

332
00:21:13.640 --> 00:21:18.319
are not being siphoned into advantage structures. And farmers deserve

333
00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:23.960
that too, because when taxpayers lose trust, farmers become the

334
00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:26.480
target of anger that they did not earn. And when

335
00:21:26.519 --> 00:21:30.200
farmers become the target, rural America becomes a punching bag

336
00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:33.720
for people who've never carried the load. So the hidden

337
00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:38.440
costs are not only economic, they're social, they're cultural. They're

338
00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:42.279
the slow erosion of trust between role producers and the

339
00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:46.119
rest of the country. When trust eroads, everything gets uglier,

340
00:21:46.200 --> 00:21:51.039
Reform becomes harder, support becomes more politicized, and the honest

341
00:21:51.079 --> 00:21:54.680
people get trapped in the crossfire. So here's the bridge

342
00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:57.880
to the next hard truth. When the system is complex

343
00:21:58.119 --> 00:22:01.960
and the money is big, frauded advantage seeking will attempt

344
00:22:01.960 --> 00:22:04.960
to move in. Not because farmers are bad, but because

345
00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:09.160
humans are humans and power attracts predators. And when predators

346
00:22:09.240 --> 00:22:11.799
move in, they don't wear a sign that says predator.

347
00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:15.440
They wear the same language, they use the same slogans,

348
00:22:15.559 --> 00:22:18.039
and they hide behind the good name of the people

349
00:22:18.119 --> 00:22:21.039
doing the real work. That's why we have to go

350
00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:24.480
there next, not to smear agriculture, but to protect it,

351
00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:28.000
because the fastest way to destroy legitimate support is to

352
00:22:28.039 --> 00:22:32.000
ignore the rot until the backlash burns down the whole barn.

353
00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:36.039
Let's be precise with language. Most farmers are not fraudstreies.

354
00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:39.559
Most farmers are not gaming the system. But where big

355
00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:43.200
money flows, bad actors show up, and where rules are complex,

356
00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:49.200
loopholes get hunted. That's not cynicism, that's human nature meeting opportunity.

357
00:22:49.480 --> 00:22:53.880
One problem in one category is payment limitation. Games commodity

358
00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:57.400
programs have formal limits, but there's a long history of

359
00:22:57.519 --> 00:23:02.160
concern that operations can re organize or structure entities to

360
00:23:02.240 --> 00:23:06.680
maximize those benefits. That concern isn't a conspiracy theory. It's

361
00:23:06.680 --> 00:23:13.319
been examined repeatedly by watchdogs. For example, GAO has documented

362
00:23:13.319 --> 00:23:18.559
payment limits and how actively engaged in farming requirements apply

363
00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:22.079
to certain programs, along with the per year caps for

364
00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:27.039
key commodities. On paper, limits exist in practice, creative structuring

365
00:23:27.400 --> 00:23:30.839
can test the edges of those limits. Another problem category

366
00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:35.640
is the difference between designed risk protection and engineered vantage.

367
00:23:35.799 --> 00:23:39.960
Crop insurance is sold in service through private companies supported

368
00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:43.680
by federal dollars in multiple ways and When you subsidize

369
00:23:43.720 --> 00:23:48.640
premiums at scale, you can unintentionally create a system where

370
00:23:48.680 --> 00:23:51.720
the public carries a lot of the downside while private

371
00:23:51.759 --> 00:23:55.359
players get protected lanes. We should say this without turning

372
00:23:55.400 --> 00:24:00.480
it into a cheap shot. Farmers legitimately need insurance. Anytime

373
00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:03.960
that the government pays a majority share of those premiums

374
00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:08.279
on average, it raises the question of whether the structure

375
00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:11.519
is lean, fair in competition driven as it could be.

376
00:24:11.799 --> 00:24:16.200
There are also enforcement gaps, not always because people are incompetent,

377
00:24:16.359 --> 00:24:20.039
but sometimes because enforcement is politically inconvenient. If you crack

378
00:24:20.119 --> 00:24:24.759
down hard, you get headlines. If you tighten definitions, you

379
00:24:24.839 --> 00:24:28.160
get lobby pressure, and if you ask the tough questions,

380
00:24:28.200 --> 00:24:32.160
you get accused of attacking farmers, even when your target

381
00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:36.000
is the paper games of the powerful. That dynamic is

382
00:24:36.039 --> 00:24:40.000
how corruption survives. It hides behind the good name of

383
00:24:40.039 --> 00:24:44.240
the honest majority. Then there's the rules written by insiders problem.

384
00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:48.720
When the biggest stakeholders have the most access, policy can

385
00:24:48.759 --> 00:24:52.599
become a custom suit, tailored fitted and designed to make

386
00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:56.359
it to where it serves the public quietly while serving them.

387
00:24:56.559 --> 00:24:59.319
And I want to be crystal clear about something. Big

388
00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:03.240
farms are not automatically corrupt. Large scale family farms produce

389
00:25:03.279 --> 00:25:05.759
a huge share of American food, and they do it

390
00:25:05.799 --> 00:25:09.200
with real skill and real risk. But scale also makes

391
00:25:09.240 --> 00:25:14.640
it easier to hire specialists, optimize program participation, and squeeze

392
00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:18.839
every advantage out of the complexity. That means the honest,

393
00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:21.759
small and mid sized operators can end up fighting on

394
00:25:21.839 --> 00:25:25.440
two fronts. They fight the weather, and they fight the markets,

395
00:25:25.519 --> 00:25:28.960
and they fight a policy environment that can tilt toward

396
00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:33.599
whoever has the most administrative horsepower. We also have to

397
00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:37.039
talk about the optics problem. When the public sees headlines

398
00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:41.240
about massive payments, they assume farmers are getting rich off

399
00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:45.519
of taxpayer dollars, But the USDA data and analysis show

400
00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:50.400
a more complicated reality. Payments vary widely. In many farm

401
00:25:50.440 --> 00:25:54.160
households don't receive payments at all in a given year,

402
00:25:54.440 --> 00:25:57.680
while others do depending on type and scale. The truth

403
00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:01.440
is more nuanced than they outrage cycle allows, and that

404
00:26:01.519 --> 00:26:06.000
outrage cycle is dangerous because it turns rural America into

405
00:26:06.039 --> 00:26:10.160
a talking point, It turns farmers into villains or saints,

406
00:26:10.200 --> 00:26:13.960
depending on who needs a narrative, and it prevents serious

407
00:26:14.039 --> 00:26:19.680
reform because serious reform requires honesty. Fraud and abuse doesn't

408
00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:23.079
just hurt taxpayers. They hurt the farm and the farmer

409
00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:26.319
down the road who's doing it right. They poison the

410
00:26:26.359 --> 00:26:30.240
public support, they invite backlash, and they make it harder

411
00:26:30.519 --> 00:26:33.319
for legitimate safety nets to survive. So if you care

412
00:26:33.359 --> 00:26:36.400
about farmers, you should care about cleaning all of this

413
00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:39.720
mess up. If you care about the food security, you

414
00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:42.160
should care about cleaning us up. He should care about

415
00:26:42.200 --> 00:26:45.200
the taxpayer. You should care about cleaning us up. Now

416
00:26:45.559 --> 00:26:48.839
we're gonna take a breath, because you can't talk stewardship

417
00:26:49.079 --> 00:26:52.319
and reform without talking about the kind of people we

418
00:26:52.440 --> 00:26:55.160
want to be. And that's where our sponsor fits. Tonight,

419
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let me talk to the people listening who still believe

420
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421
00:27:02.279 --> 00:27:06.119
the quiet kind that shows up when nobody's watching. Integrity

422
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is doing the right thing when it costs you something.

423
00:27:09.599 --> 00:27:13.359
It's turning in the extra change, it's admitting the mistake.

424
00:27:13.640 --> 00:27:16.880
It's keeping your word even when you can get away

425
00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:20.359
with breaking it. That's why I partner with Valor Built Apparel,

426
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427
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just a shirt, it's a statement. That says I'm not outsourced,

428
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429
00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:36.079
is not a hashtag. Community is helping Americans without needing

430
00:27:36.559 --> 00:27:40.119
a bureaucracy to force it. It's neighbors showing up. It's

431
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people carrying each other through storms, and I mean literal storms,

432
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financial storms, and everything in between. And when you buy

433
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434
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435
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way to support values that still matter. Responsibility, grit, service,

436
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and the belief that this country is worth fighting for

437
00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:06.799
in the right way. So if you're tired of the

438
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brands that hate the people who build America, go check

439
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out Valor Built apparel. Were's something that means something, and

440
00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:18.079
be kind to everyone around you while being the kind

441
00:28:18.079 --> 00:28:22.039
of person your kids can point to with pride. All right,

442
00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:24.319
back to the episode, all right, I want to go

443
00:28:24.400 --> 00:28:28.480
deeper here because reform is a word people throw around

444
00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:32.519
like it's easy. It's not easy, not when the steaks

445
00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:37.519
are food land families and entire rural communities that live

446
00:28:37.960 --> 00:28:40.920
or die on whether the system is stable. The fix

447
00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:47.519
starts with a mindset, mindset shift in Washington. Stop treating

448
00:28:47.559 --> 00:28:50.960
farmers like a photo op, stop treating farm support like

449
00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:54.680
a political bargaining chip, and stop redesigning programs like the

450
00:28:54.759 --> 00:28:58.279
goal is to impress lobbyists instead of protecting the producers.

451
00:28:58.480 --> 00:29:01.759
If you've never won into a farm office with a

452
00:29:01.799 --> 00:29:04.640
folder full of paperwork after a twelve hour day, you

453
00:29:04.680 --> 00:29:08.599
don't understand the first problem time is. The concern is

454
00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:13.279
the currency that farmers do not have. The complexity steals

455
00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:16.920
time more than efficiency ever will. Here's what complexity does

456
00:29:16.960 --> 00:29:20.440
in the real world. It pushes small and midside operators

457
00:29:20.680 --> 00:29:24.119
towards paid help or toward just do what we did

458
00:29:24.200 --> 00:29:27.559
last year and hope it's right. That's when something changes.

459
00:29:27.759 --> 00:29:31.039
They're the ones who get the phone call, the penalty,

460
00:29:31.240 --> 00:29:36.920
the delay, the stress. Meanwhile, the biggest players if people

461
00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:40.720
whose job is to track every rule change like it's

462
00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:44.000
a stock market. That's not an attack on big farms.

463
00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:48.599
That is an observation about administrative power, and administrative power

464
00:29:48.680 --> 00:29:53.759
becomes competitive advantage when the rules get too thick to read. Now,

465
00:29:53.960 --> 00:29:57.599
let's talk about land, because land is where this gets personal.

466
00:29:57.839 --> 00:30:03.000
When policy becomes it doesn't just help cash flow, it

467
00:30:03.079 --> 00:30:07.200
can get priced into cash rent and land value, especially

468
00:30:07.480 --> 00:30:10.960
in hot areas and high demand ground. So what happens

469
00:30:11.160 --> 00:30:14.319
to the young farmer trying to get started. They're competing

470
00:30:14.359 --> 00:30:18.839
against a market that assumes certain stability. They're competing against

471
00:30:18.920 --> 00:30:23.440
operations that can spread risk over more acres and negotiate

472
00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:27.119
more aggressively, and they're trying to build a life while

473
00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:30.880
the latter is getting higher and higher every year. This

474
00:30:31.319 --> 00:30:35.440
is how you lose the next generation, not because the

475
00:30:35.519 --> 00:30:39.000
kids are soft, because the math is brutal. And listen,

476
00:30:39.559 --> 00:30:43.240
I work around this world. I see the stress. I

477
00:30:43.279 --> 00:30:46.359
see the way a bad year doesn't just hurt profits,

478
00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:50.480
it could hurt marriages, mental health, family plans, and the

479
00:30:50.519 --> 00:30:54.559
basic dignity of a man who feels responsible for everything

480
00:30:54.880 --> 00:30:58.759
and in control of nothing. So any reform that smells

481
00:30:59.079 --> 00:31:02.759
like contempt will fail. In A reform that sounds like

482
00:31:02.799 --> 00:31:05.880
farmers are moochers is dead on arrival, and it should

483
00:31:05.960 --> 00:31:09.480
be dead because it's false and it's cowardly. Reform has

484
00:31:09.519 --> 00:31:12.400
to sound like this. We honor you enough to protect

485
00:31:12.440 --> 00:31:16.039
you from a rigged system. We value you enough to

486
00:31:16.119 --> 00:31:21.039
demand that the money meant for stability isn't siphoned by insiders.

487
00:31:21.279 --> 00:31:24.559
We respect you enough to make the rules clearer, the

488
00:31:24.759 --> 00:31:28.200
enforcement fairer, and the fraud harder. So what does that

489
00:31:28.279 --> 00:31:31.400
look like in practice? It looks like a clean reform

490
00:31:31.480 --> 00:31:36.359
package that makes cheating expensive, makes honest you simple, and

491
00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:40.799
makes outcomes visible without turning farmers into targets. Here's the

492
00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:44.599
first pillar. Make a program design readable to the people

493
00:31:44.640 --> 00:31:48.000
who actually farm. If the average operator can't understand a

494
00:31:48.039 --> 00:31:51.960
program without a specialist, then the program is already biased

495
00:31:51.960 --> 00:31:57.119
towards whoever can hire specialists. Readable means fewer overlapping programs

496
00:31:57.400 --> 00:32:00.880
that do the same thing with different definitions. Readable means

497
00:32:01.160 --> 00:32:06.079
fewer special exemptions that turn rules into switch cheese. Readable

498
00:32:06.440 --> 00:32:11.839
means forms that match reality instead of forcing reality to

499
00:32:11.960 --> 00:32:15.119
match the forms. Now, the second pillar draw a harder

500
00:32:15.200 --> 00:32:18.880
line between a working producer and a paper participant. Not

501
00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:22.240
because we want purity tests, but because we want the

502
00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:25.240
program to do what it claims to do. If somebody

503
00:32:26.559 --> 00:32:30.960
has risk exposure and it's real, their support should be accessible.

504
00:32:31.160 --> 00:32:36.599
If somebody's participation is a legal invention designed to multiply checks,

505
00:32:36.880 --> 00:32:40.759
that's not support. That's extraction, and extraction is how public

506
00:32:40.799 --> 00:32:46.559
trust dies. Third pillar, fix the incentives that quietly punish diversification.

507
00:32:46.920 --> 00:32:51.079
Some farms survive because they're diversified, not because they're huge.

508
00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:55.599
They stack enterprises, they adapt, they build resilience. A smart

509
00:32:55.640 --> 00:32:59.039
safety net shouldn't trap farmers in a single template. It

510
00:32:59.119 --> 00:33:02.559
should allow us to build across different models without forcing

511
00:33:02.599 --> 00:33:06.599
everyone into the same narrow lane. Because when a shock hits,

512
00:33:06.759 --> 00:33:12.200
resilience comes from variety, not uniformity. Fourth pillar, modernize the

513
00:33:12.240 --> 00:33:16.079
oversight in a way that is targeted, not accusatory. I'm

514
00:33:16.079 --> 00:33:19.799
not interested in turning every farmer into a into a suspect.

515
00:33:20.079 --> 00:33:23.880
I'm interested in turning suspicious patterns into a dead end.

516
00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:27.440
That means better cross checking where it makes sense. That

517
00:33:27.480 --> 00:33:32.680
means flagging unusual repetition, unusual structures, unusual claims that don't

518
00:33:32.720 --> 00:33:37.799
match historical patterns, And it means rapid review that separates

519
00:33:38.119 --> 00:33:43.400
honest mistakes from deliberate gaming. Fifth pillar, bring real consequences

520
00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:49.519
for deliberate fraud, not headlines, actual consequences. When people treat

521
00:33:49.559 --> 00:33:52.680
fraud as a cost of doing business, it spreads. When

522
00:33:52.720 --> 00:33:57.319
consequences are serious and consistent, fraud shrinks because even the

523
00:33:57.359 --> 00:34:02.319
most arrogant bad actor respects risk when the risk is real. Now,

524
00:34:02.559 --> 00:34:05.599
let's talk about the middle that never that seems to

525
00:34:05.640 --> 00:34:10.519
get forgotten. Most policy fights become big farms versus small farms,

526
00:34:10.719 --> 00:34:13.760
and that is a trap. The heart of rural America

527
00:34:13.960 --> 00:34:16.480
is full of operations that are not tiny, but they're

528
00:34:16.480 --> 00:34:19.599
not the big corporate farms. They're not big enough to

529
00:34:19.679 --> 00:34:23.199
carry real overhead and small enough to get every punch.

530
00:34:23.320 --> 00:34:26.159
They get squeezed by input costs, they get squeezed by

531
00:34:26.239 --> 00:34:30.000
land pressure, they get squeezed by the complexity of programs,

532
00:34:30.159 --> 00:34:32.719
and they're the ones who keep the machine running. A

533
00:34:32.760 --> 00:34:37.360
good reform package should protect that middle, because that middle

534
00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:42.400
is what provides our stability. The middle is communities, schools,

535
00:34:42.760 --> 00:34:47.239
church families, volunteer fire departments, and local businesses that don't

536
00:34:47.280 --> 00:34:50.480
survive on theory. They survive on real cash flow from

537
00:34:50.519 --> 00:34:53.360
real work. Now, I want to say this as someone

538
00:34:53.360 --> 00:34:57.719
who works around equipment in rural business. When farming gets unstable,

539
00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:01.000
it's not just farms. It hits imp dealers, it hits

540
00:35:01.039 --> 00:35:04.320
parts counters, it hits service base, it hits mechanics, it

541
00:35:04.400 --> 00:35:09.400
hits truckers, it hits agronomists, it hits the entire rural ecosystem.

542
00:35:09.639 --> 00:35:12.719
So when people say cut it all, they're not being tough.

543
00:35:12.920 --> 00:35:17.079
They're being absolutely careless. They're playing with the structural beams

544
00:35:17.079 --> 00:35:20.880
of an entire way of life. So the fix isn't sabotage.

545
00:35:21.199 --> 00:35:24.679
The fix is stewardship. Stewardship looks like cleaning the pipes,

546
00:35:24.880 --> 00:35:27.880
not shutting off the water. It looks like tightening the bolts,

547
00:35:28.079 --> 00:35:30.719
not lighting the bar on fire. It looks like protecting

548
00:35:30.800 --> 00:35:36.360
farmers from Washington's chaos while also protecting taxpayers from Washington's corruption.

549
00:35:36.559 --> 00:35:38.559
And here's the parts that needs to be set out loud.

550
00:35:38.920 --> 00:35:41.800
Every time a politician uses a farmer as a shield

551
00:35:41.800 --> 00:35:45.039
to protect a loophole, that politician is not pro farmer,

552
00:35:45.159 --> 00:35:48.880
their pro advantage. And every time the media paints agriculture

553
00:35:49.239 --> 00:35:52.440
like it's just a welfare program with tractors, the media

554
00:35:52.599 --> 00:35:56.199
is not informing. They're poisoning trust in the very people

555
00:35:56.440 --> 00:36:01.000
who keep this whole entire country fed. So, yes, we

556
00:36:01.119 --> 00:36:04.280
fix it with policy, but we also fix it with honesty.

557
00:36:04.559 --> 00:36:08.079
We fix it by refusing to let outsiders pit rural

558
00:36:08.079 --> 00:36:12.320
America against taxpayers like it's a sport. Now, let me

559
00:36:12.360 --> 00:36:14.440
give you what i'd call a clean safety net model,

560
00:36:14.639 --> 00:36:18.559
not perfect, but a direction that respects farmers and respects

561
00:36:18.559 --> 00:36:22.519
the public. A clean safety net model that starts with clear,

562
00:36:22.880 --> 00:36:27.719
stable rules for risk protection. It avoids constant political improvisation.

563
00:36:28.079 --> 00:36:32.480
It uses predictable triggers for disaster and systemic shocks, so

564
00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:37.039
farmers can plan like professionals instead of gambling on headlines.

565
00:36:37.159 --> 00:36:41.039
It keeps core protection for genuine production risk. It trims

566
00:36:41.079 --> 00:36:44.960
the ability to turn programs into a strategy game, and

567
00:36:45.039 --> 00:36:50.639
it makes sure the support doesn't quietly become a permanent

568
00:36:50.639 --> 00:36:55.719
rent booster that blocks the next generation. It simplifies participation

569
00:36:56.199 --> 00:36:59.519
so honest farmers can comply without losing their minds. It

570
00:36:59.559 --> 00:37:04.320
modernized is oversight, so fraud detection is smarter than a clipboord.

571
00:37:04.480 --> 00:37:07.920
And it makes transparency normal so the public can see

572
00:37:08.400 --> 00:37:12.599
the outcomes without turning farmers into targets. That's reform that

573
00:37:12.679 --> 00:37:16.800
protects farming. That's reform that protects the trust, and trust

574
00:37:17.119 --> 00:37:20.679
is the only thing that keeps these programs from becoming

575
00:37:20.840 --> 00:37:23.920
a national punching bag. Now we take the next step,

576
00:37:24.239 --> 00:37:27.800
because even if we fix it, the question remains, is

577
00:37:27.840 --> 00:37:31.039
there a way out or are we locked into this forever.

578
00:37:31.199 --> 00:37:34.880
Here's the mistake people make when I talk about eliminating

579
00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:38.559
farm support They imagine farming like a normal business when

580
00:37:38.559 --> 00:37:42.199
it's not. They imagine you can raise prices when costs rise,

581
00:37:42.559 --> 00:37:45.440
like owning a software company. Farming doesn't work that way.

582
00:37:45.719 --> 00:37:48.760
Farming is a global commodity environment where the price is

583
00:37:48.800 --> 00:37:51.480
often set far away from your county line. You can

584
00:37:51.519 --> 00:37:54.199
be a world class operator and still take a beating

585
00:37:54.360 --> 00:37:58.079
because markets move faster than your season can. That means

586
00:37:58.360 --> 00:38:02.039
some kind of stabilization will likely exist as long as

587
00:38:02.280 --> 00:38:06.400
America and the Americans want food independence. And I'm going

588
00:38:06.440 --> 00:38:08.840
to say it straight, if we don't want to depend

589
00:38:08.880 --> 00:38:11.920
on foreign countries for our food, then we need a

590
00:38:11.960 --> 00:38:16.639
domestic system that can survive shocks. That's not political, that's survival.

591
00:38:16.800 --> 00:38:20.800
So the question isn't can we remove all support? The

592
00:38:20.840 --> 00:38:25.679
real question is can we reduce distortion and dependency while

593
00:38:25.719 --> 00:38:29.719
keeping stability. And I believe the answer is yes. But

594
00:38:29.800 --> 00:38:33.480
it requires a real transition, not a stunt. It requires

595
00:38:33.519 --> 00:38:37.159
a long runway, not a cliff. A responsible path looks

596
00:38:37.199 --> 00:38:39.800
like a ten year mindset, not a ten year promise

597
00:38:39.960 --> 00:38:43.000
of cuts no matter what happens, but a ten year

598
00:38:43.000 --> 00:38:47.960
commitment to clean structure, stable rules, and declining distortion. The

599
00:38:48.039 --> 00:38:53.360
first step is stopping the habit of surprise checks that

600
00:38:53.480 --> 00:38:57.679
reward lobbying behavior a. When the aid becomes ad hoc

601
00:38:57.880 --> 00:39:01.280
and political, it trains the industry to invest in influence.

602
00:39:01.519 --> 00:39:04.639
You don't want farmers investing in influence. You want them

603
00:39:04.679 --> 00:39:08.719
investing in resilience. So you can move forward automatic rules

604
00:39:08.760 --> 00:39:12.679
based triggers for true disaster and systemic shocks. Not who

605
00:39:12.760 --> 00:39:16.599
yelled the loudest, not who had the best connections, but

606
00:39:16.840 --> 00:39:21.159
clear conditions that apply fairly, price targets, price floors. I

607
00:39:21.199 --> 00:39:24.559
mean that alone starts to reduce to incentive for backroom.

608
00:39:24.880 --> 00:39:28.400
Next step is strengthening producer level resilience tools. Not as

609
00:39:28.440 --> 00:39:30.880
a lecture, not as a moral flex but as a

610
00:39:30.880 --> 00:39:34.599
policy design. You encourage farms to build buffers in good

611
00:39:34.679 --> 00:39:39.480
years without penalizing them for being responsible. You reward practices

612
00:39:39.840 --> 00:39:44.000
that protect long term productivity, because the best subsidy is

613
00:39:44.039 --> 00:39:47.880
a farm that stays healthy, soil, that holds water, ground

614
00:39:47.960 --> 00:39:51.840
that doesn't blow away, operations that can withstand a bad

615
00:39:51.920 --> 00:39:55.239
year without collapsing. You also make it easier for new

616
00:39:55.400 --> 00:39:58.679
and beginning farmers to get a foothold, because it if

617
00:39:58.719 --> 00:40:02.519
only the farms that survive are the ones already massive.

618
00:40:02.840 --> 00:40:07.920
You haven't built security, You've built fragility, because concentrated systems

619
00:40:08.159 --> 00:40:12.519
break hard when they break, and subsidy light future also

620
00:40:12.800 --> 00:40:16.400
respects the fact that some risk will always be unensurable

621
00:40:16.679 --> 00:40:21.239
in private markets without distortion removed. So you don't pretend

622
00:40:21.480 --> 00:40:24.960
private markets can do everything tomorrow. You clean the rule

623
00:40:25.159 --> 00:40:30.559
environment so private tools can grow without being undetermined and

624
00:40:30.679 --> 00:40:35.480
undermined by political randomness. That means fewer sudden program we rates,

625
00:40:35.639 --> 00:40:39.639
fewer moving targets unless we'll figure it out later. Policy. Now,

626
00:40:39.719 --> 00:40:42.519
let's talk about what people don't want to admit. The

627
00:40:42.559 --> 00:40:46.519
public demands cheap food and stable shelves. Then the public

628
00:40:46.559 --> 00:40:51.119
gets mad when the system that helps stabilize production exists.

629
00:40:53.639 --> 00:40:59.920
That contradiction fuels political games, Politicians exploit it, media amplifies it,

630
00:41:00.079 --> 00:41:04.320
and rural America pays the price because the pendulum swings

631
00:41:04.559 --> 00:41:07.760
too far. So a way out requires a grown up

632
00:41:07.920 --> 00:41:11.800
public conversation. It requires saying we want food independence and

633
00:41:11.840 --> 00:41:14.280
we want a clean safety net, and we're willing to

634
00:41:14.320 --> 00:41:17.239
do the hard work of reform, not burn it down,

635
00:41:17.599 --> 00:41:20.079
not ignore it, but fix it. And I want to

636
00:41:20.119 --> 00:41:22.960
say this carefully because this is where people get mean.

637
00:41:23.119 --> 00:41:26.119
We do not fix it by shaming farmers. We fix

638
00:41:26.159 --> 00:41:30.400
it by targeting the structures that allow advantage extraction. We

639
00:41:30.480 --> 00:41:33.079
fix it by refusing to let the biggest and most

640
00:41:33.119 --> 00:41:37.239
connected players hide behind the reputation of the honest majority.

641
00:41:37.440 --> 00:41:40.039
We fix it by protecting the small and mid sized

642
00:41:40.079 --> 00:41:44.840
operators from being crushed by a system that rewards paperwork power.

643
00:41:44.960 --> 00:41:47.360
And we fix it by keeping our eyes on the

644
00:41:47.400 --> 00:41:52.000
real mission. The mission is food security, stability, and stewardship,

645
00:41:52.280 --> 00:41:56.280
not political theater, not donor protection, not a permanent cycle

646
00:41:56.400 --> 00:41:59.840
of lobbying, checks and outrage. So as they're a way out,

647
00:42:00.119 --> 00:42:02.400
there's a way out of the worst parts of it.

648
00:42:02.599 --> 00:42:04.719
There's a way out of the corruption, there's a way

649
00:42:04.760 --> 00:42:07.519
out of the distortion. But there will probably never be

650
00:42:07.599 --> 00:42:12.239
a world where America is as serious about food independence

651
00:42:12.480 --> 00:42:17.000
but also has zero stabilization tools. That's not how nations

652
00:42:17.039 --> 00:42:20.239
behave when they care about survival. So the real win

653
00:42:20.519 --> 00:42:24.760
is not zero. The real wind is clean, targeted, transparent,

654
00:42:25.119 --> 00:42:28.519
and stable. That is the path that protects farmers and

655
00:42:28.599 --> 00:42:31.840
protects taxpayers at the same time. That is the path

656
00:42:32.159 --> 00:42:35.840
that keeps rural America from being used as a political pawn.

657
00:42:36.159 --> 00:42:38.480
And that is the path that keeps the country fed

658
00:42:38.800 --> 00:42:41.440
without being fooled. I want to speak directly to two

659
00:42:41.480 --> 00:42:44.000
groups right now, to the farmers that may be listening,

660
00:42:44.239 --> 00:42:47.599
and to the taxpayer that is listening, because the political

661
00:42:47.639 --> 00:42:50.360
class loves to put you in a cage match and

662
00:42:50.440 --> 00:42:53.480
sell tickets. To the farmer listening, you are not a villain.

663
00:42:53.719 --> 00:42:56.800
You are not a punchline. You are not a talking point.

664
00:42:56.920 --> 00:43:00.639
You are the foundation of a nation that eats. You

665
00:43:00.719 --> 00:43:03.679
are the reason a mother can feed her kids without

666
00:43:03.920 --> 00:43:07.679
praying the shows are full. You are the reason America

667
00:43:07.800 --> 00:43:10.639
is not begging for food from countries that would love

668
00:43:10.760 --> 00:43:13.760
to control us. And to the taxpayer listening, you are

669
00:43:13.800 --> 00:43:17.760
not heartless for demanding accountability. You are not cruel for

670
00:43:17.920 --> 00:43:21.760
wanting transparency. You are not wrong for asking why government

671
00:43:21.840 --> 00:43:26.679
systems get fat while working people get squeezed. Stewardship is

672
00:43:26.800 --> 00:43:31.519
not an insult. Stewardship is love expressed to responsibility. Here's

673
00:43:31.559 --> 00:43:34.599
what both of you should be furious about. Not each other,

674
00:43:34.880 --> 00:43:39.159
but the fraud, the loopholes, the political favoritism towards the

675
00:43:39.199 --> 00:43:42.079
big guys, to people who turn real work into a

676
00:43:42.159 --> 00:43:45.840
narrative so they can keep their power. To people who

677
00:43:45.880 --> 00:43:48.880
build complexity on purpose so nobody can follow the money

678
00:43:49.079 --> 00:43:53.199
to people who use protect farmers as a shield while

679
00:43:53.239 --> 00:43:57.079
they quietly protect their donors. Because the truth is, corruption

680
00:43:57.320 --> 00:44:00.400
is a tax. It's a tax on farmers trying to peat,

681
00:44:01.079 --> 00:44:04.199
it's a tax on young families trying to buy groceries.

682
00:44:04.639 --> 00:44:08.079
It's a tax on future of rural America. And here's

683
00:44:08.119 --> 00:44:11.840
the part that should light a fire in every honest American.

684
00:44:12.159 --> 00:44:16.719
Fraud doesn't just steal money. Fraud steals trust. When trust dies,

685
00:44:16.760 --> 00:44:20.440
support collapses. When support collapses, the system swings from help

686
00:44:20.480 --> 00:44:23.960
to punishment. And when the people who get punished first

687
00:44:24.199 --> 00:44:26.920
are never the insiders. It's always the honest people who

688
00:44:26.960 --> 00:44:29.480
don't have the connections. So if you're going to be

689
00:44:29.920 --> 00:44:32.719
a serious country, we do this the right way. We

690
00:44:32.800 --> 00:44:35.719
honor the producers, we protect the food security, we clean

691
00:44:35.760 --> 00:44:38.960
out the rot, and we can hold two things at once.

692
00:44:39.280 --> 00:44:42.960
We can say that farmers matter, and safety nets must

693
00:44:43.079 --> 00:44:47.239
be installed. The system must be accountable, and those safety

694
00:44:47.280 --> 00:44:50.280
nets are legitimate, But we also need to say that

695
00:44:50.320 --> 00:44:53.519
the loopholes, those holes in the safety net need to die.

696
00:44:53.679 --> 00:44:57.079
That is what maturity looks like in a republic. No outrage,

697
00:44:57.320 --> 00:45:01.400
no scapegoats, Maturity and I'll say that outline again because

698
00:45:01.440 --> 00:45:04.960
it's the line that matters in every single episode of

699
00:45:04.960 --> 00:45:08.920
this series. This isn't about left versus right. This is

700
00:45:08.960 --> 00:45:14.800
about right versus wrong. Now, if this episode made you uncomfortable,

701
00:45:15.039 --> 00:45:19.480
good should have because discomfort is where those those thought

702
00:45:19.519 --> 00:45:23.199
points start. It's where it really pushes you to think,

703
00:45:23.480 --> 00:45:26.920
and thinking is where reform begins. If you know a farmer,

704
00:45:27.320 --> 00:45:29.880
send this to them, not as an accusation, but as

705
00:45:29.920 --> 00:45:32.840
a sign of respect, because these farmers deserve our respect,

706
00:45:33.119 --> 00:45:37.079
a sign that says I see your value and I

707
00:45:37.199 --> 00:45:40.599
want the system around you to be worthy of you

708
00:45:41.000 --> 00:45:43.800
and worthy of your work. If you're in roll America,

709
00:45:43.960 --> 00:45:46.840
share this with the people who live in and if

710
00:45:46.920 --> 00:45:49.440
you're not in rural America, share it with the people

711
00:45:49.440 --> 00:45:52.760
who only think about food when it comes from the store.

712
00:45:53.079 --> 00:45:57.800
Because the more Americans understand agriculture and the struggle surrounding it,

713
00:45:57.840 --> 00:46:01.559
the harder it is for politicians to lie about it.

714
00:46:01.840 --> 00:46:07.960
So make sure you're subscribed wherever you listen Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker,

715
00:46:08.239 --> 00:46:10.719
and this one might be on YouTube. And if you

716
00:46:10.760 --> 00:46:13.280
want to help this show and help it grow, please

717
00:46:13.400 --> 00:46:16.079
leave a review and a rating. It takes about two

718
00:46:16.079 --> 00:46:19.360
minutes and it makes a bigger difference than most people realize.

719
00:46:19.519 --> 00:46:22.679
Follow and share the show on every platform. Find us

720
00:46:22.679 --> 00:46:28.559
on x, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Rumble. This will

721
00:46:28.599 --> 00:46:31.239
be on Rumble as well. Clip it, repost it. Get

722
00:46:31.280 --> 00:46:35.000
these conversations out of the algorithm cage and into real life.

723
00:46:35.280 --> 00:46:38.960
And support our sponsors. Support the brands that still believe

724
00:46:39.000 --> 00:46:43.639
in integrity, community and responsibility. Support the people building things,

725
00:46:43.880 --> 00:46:48.559
not the people manipulating narratives. Most importantly, stay with the series.

726
00:46:48.679 --> 00:46:54.159
The Subsization Master Series exists to inform, empower, and strengthen

727
00:46:54.199 --> 00:46:57.800
the country, not through partision, cheap shots, but through truth,

728
00:46:58.039 --> 00:47:01.400
stewardship and real reform. Because if we want to keep

729
00:47:01.440 --> 00:47:05.280
America strong, we have to be honest about where the

730
00:47:05.360 --> 00:47:08.679
money goes. We have to protect the people who do

731
00:47:08.760 --> 00:47:12.199
the work, and we have to demand better from the

732
00:47:12.280 --> 00:47:15.079
people who write the rules. Now, I'll see you in

733
00:47:15.119 --> 00:47:19.239
the next episode, and until then, stay grounded, stay awake,

734
00:47:19.559 --> 00:47:23.039
and stay unwilling to be played, and do your research.

735
00:47:23.239 --> 00:47:27.159
Expand your thought processes, Expand the way you want to

736
00:47:27.199 --> 00:47:30.360
go about things. Work just as hard to understand this

737
00:47:30.480 --> 00:47:33.360
world as you do with the other things in our life,

738
00:47:33.519 --> 00:47:38.079
because if you don't, this world will swallow you whole.

739
00:47:38.360 --> 00:47:41.760
Get out there, kick some ass. Let's make this country better.

740
00:47:42.000 --> 00:47:46.559
Let's steal some of these loopholes. Let's push our politicians

741
00:47:46.840 --> 00:47:49.320
to make policy that's better for all of us and

742
00:47:49.360 --> 00:47:52.440
not just them and their lobbyists. We can do this.

743
00:47:52.760 --> 00:47:54.719
We can make America great.