• We must be able to feed ourselves as part of our national security.
• We must help our farmers lead the way to energy independence.
• As a percentage of national income, we spend only half as much on food as people in other developed countries. Subsidies help keep our food costs low by keeping production levels high.
• We need subsidies to help our farmers compete with heavily subsidized farmers in Europe and Asia and to insulate them from the effects of natural disasters.
• We need a counter cyclical revenue program that makes payments based on low yields as well as low prices, and we need a fully-funded crop insurance program.
• Our agricultural policies must encourage young people to enter and stay in farming.
• As President, I will watch out for our farmers because our national well-being depends on theirs.

A nation must provide its citizens freedom and security. Toaccomplish this, a nation must be able to defend itself and feeditself. We have learned how disastrous it is to be dependent on othercountries for our energy needs – we must never be dependent for ourfood needs. Being able to feed ourselves is not just sound economic andagricultural policy, it is wise national security policy.

Besidesgrowing our food, our farmers are growing our energy and leading theway to energy independence. We need more ethanol, includingcellulose-based ethanol from sources such as switch grass andagricultural residues. We need more bio-fuels and bio-diesel from foodprocessing wastes, such as fat from processing plants and used cookingoils. We need methane gas from livestock and dairy operations. Thesealternative fuels will not only make us independent, they will alsoprovide additional markets for our farmers’ products and create morejobs in rural areas.

We take for granted that our food is notonly plentiful and diverse, but also inexpensive. As a percentage ofincome, we spend about half what people in other developed countriesdo, which gives us an enormous economic advantage. We have so much moremoney to spend on discretionary items. Part of the reason prices arelow is that subsidies keep production at high levels, so keepingAmerican farmers in business is not just good for them but for all ofus.

We must continue subsidies because our farmers competewith highly subsidized farmers in Europe and Asia, and they face fixedcosts (land, equipment, seed, supplies) whether or not they produce acrop. Subsidies insulate farmers from natural disasters like droughts,floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes, as well as from sudden spikes in theprice of fuel, feed, and fertilizer.

I also support a moreflexible counter cyclical revenue program that makes payments based onlow yields and/or low prices rather than the current program, which isbased only on low prices. I support a fully-funded crop insuranceprogram, so that Congress will not have to pass emergency assistanceevery time disaster strikes.

We need agricultural policiesthat encourage our young people to enter and stay in farming. They facethe high costs of starting and capitalizing a farm, plus the fearsgenerated by onerous government regulations and rapid policy changes.We have to reduce their risks and increase their potential forprofitability. We have to assure that they have outstanding ruralschools, state-of-the-art health care, and first-rate infrastructure.

AsGovernor of Arkansas, a state with about 47,000 farms growing 165crops, I saw first hand how our farmers struggled to cope with thechallenges of fluctuating prices, policies, and natural disasters, andI was constantly amazed that they would go back year after year. AsPresident, I will always watch out for our farmers because our nationalwell-being is inextricably interwoven with theirs.