An agricultural subsidy is a governmental subsidy paid to farmers to supplement their income, help manage the supply of agricultural commodities, and bolster the market price of commodities. Examples of such commodities include wheat, feed grains (grain used as fodder, such as corn, sorghum, barley, and oats), cotton, rice, peanuts, and oilseeds such as soybeans. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Farmer spreading grasshopper bait in his alfalfa field. ... The word commodity is a term with distinct meanings in business and in Marxist political economy. ... Chicago Board of Trade Commodity market Commodity markets are markets where raw or primary products are exchanged. ... Foodstuffs Fuels Precious metals Metals Rare metals Other Source This list is partly adapted from [8] (Consumerium) under the clauses of GFDL External links NYMEX.com London Metal Exchange Euronext - Commodities > Commodities Chicago Board of Trade ... Species T. boeoticum T. durum T. monococcum T. spelta References:   ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 Wheat (Triticum spp. ... An assortment of grains The word grain has a great many meanings, most being descriptive of a small piece or particle. ... In agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed livestock, such as cattle, sheep, chickens and pigs. ... A dish of sweet corn Corn is a term that applies to any staple food grain—that is, a fruit of a plant in the Grass Family (Poaceae). ... Species Hybrids Sorghum, also known as jowar, (Sorghum vulgare or Sorghum bicolor) is a grass (family Poaceae) which is used for food, fodder, and the production of alcoholic beverages. ... Binomial name Hordeum vulgare L. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is a major food and animal feed crop, a member of the grass family Poaceae. ... Species References ITIS 41455 2002-09-22 Oats are the seeds of any of several cereal grains in the genus Avena. ... Cotton is a soft fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to the tropical and subtropical regions of both the Old World and the New World. ... Species References ITIS 41975 2002-09-22 Rice (genus Oryza) is a plant of the grass family which is a dietary staple of more than half of the worlds human population. ... Binomial name Arachis hypogaea L. The Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) is a species in the pea family Fabaceae native to South America. ... Vegetable oil or vegoil is fat extracted from plant sources. ... Soybean - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Farm commodities in the U.S.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is required by law to subsidize over two dozen commodities. Between 1996 and 2002, an average of $16 billion/year was paid by programs authorized by federal legislation dating back to the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, the Agricultural Act of 1949, and the CCC Charter Act of 1948, among others. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA, is a Cabinet department of the United States Federal Government. ... The following is a partial list of United States federal legislation. ...

The beneficiaries of the subsidies have changed as U.S. agriculture changes. In the 1930s, about a quarter of the U.S. population resided on the nation's six million small farms. By 1997, 157,000 large farms accounted for 72% of farm sales, with only 2% of the U.S. population residing on farms. Agriculture is a major industry in the United States and the country is a net exporter of food. ... // Events and trends The 1930s were spent struggling for a solution to the global depression. ...

Congress has made dozens of changes to the program over the years, as agricultural policy and the economy has changed. One of the more recent acts was the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, which is in effect until 2007. The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Reference

• Farm Commodity Programs: A Short Primer, a Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, June 20, 2002.