The USDA said today that it will buy $20 million worth of cheese to donate to food banks and pantries in an effort to help America’s struggling dairy producers.

Source: www.csmonitor.com

Do politics, economics, and government policies help to shape agriculture patterns?  Absolutely.  This is an interesting, current example that shows how Chinese and Russian policies are impacting American dairy producers, and how the U.S. government is stepping in. 

 

Questions to Ponder:  Should the U.S. government protect businesses that are in dire straits?  What would happen if the government did not offer agricultural subsidies/bailouts?  What will happen (or not happen) because of these subsidies/bailouts?  Any way you slice it, 11 million tons is a lot of cheddar.     

 

Tags: agriculture, food production, economic, food, agribusiness,