Ag funding cuts a broader swath: agricultural programs can no longer be just farm production programs for a few major crops to benefit the country's midsection

摘要

It sounded a bit odd when Gus Schumacher, USDA undersecretary during the Clinton administration, describer Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) recently as "the go-to guy in agriculture" for the Northeast region. After all, Schumer is a New York City attorney who represented Brooklyn in the U.S. House for 18 years and may be best known in agricultural circles for trying to kill the sugar program. But, in fact, there is substance to Schumacher's assertion and it reflects a recent regional drift of funding for agricultural programs.