It was over a year ago in this column that I told you Congress was going to tackle the so-called farm bill. Farmers have had to delay planting, or planted not knowing the regulations and restrictions the new bill would place on their decisions. The stress level of many farmers has really gone up over this year’s time.

Farmers face the drought, disease and insect problems along with the big unknown Congress lays on them with the farm bill. In the meantime, Congress has stuffed some 11,610 of their pork-barrel projects into the farm bill for a total of some $17.2 billion. Congress has been so busy getting their interests seen to that concern for the farmers was forgotten.

President Bush vetoed the final bill because of its excesses. But it passed a veto override as both parties have satisfaction in their pork barrel additions.

There are also some complaints as to how the bill is written but that is the fault of Congress once again. There is also criticism as to subsidies to rich farmers. Subsidies give farmers a guarantee as to income for their year’s work. How would you like to work for months and then find out that you are getting paid little or less than you had been working toward? There is a real concern as to price subsidies for grain that is extremely high at the present moment due to its use for making ethanol. Again, this problem could have been corrected as the new farm bill was written, but the complaints came up after Congress did their work.

Not only farmers, but also all people on food assistance will suffer if Congress and the White House can’t sit down and come up with a farm bill policy that will bring about stability to our nation’s food supply in both good times and bad. Perhaps they could also change the name to the food policy bill, which would more accurately reflect the workings of the bill.

When the president’s veto was overridden last month and sent to the White House, Congress failed to send some 34 pages covering foreign aid programs. Thus that part did not become law. So, the president had to veto the bill again, and Congress had to override the veto again so it could become law. That final mistake alone delayed food shipments to Ethiopia, Myanmar and Somalia.

Yea sure, it’s a farm bill and just a problem for the farmers.

Father Samuel Heitkamp is pastor of St. Joan of Arc Church in Kirby and was the director of the former rural life organization in the archdiocese.