Whoops: a Wrong Forecast

"I continue to think that there is a higher probability that the 2012 Farm Bill will be passed before the end of this year than that the current farm bill will be extended. My reasons for this assessment include the broad agreement that currently exists in much of the two farm bill drafts, the concern over what a new budget baseline will mean for the farm safety net, and the potential use of the budget savings in the new farm bill to fund bi-partisan priorities. Of course, this assessment means that the House and Senate will need to compromise over the existing differences in the two draft bills."

That's from Illinois extension on Dec. 6.  A reminder: we often are too sure of our views.

Washington Times Criticizes RMA

Washington Times has an article criticizing the Congressional mandate for RMA to push crop insurance.

"...the RMA’s money is going toward educating farmers on how to make use of crop insurance, adding potential new customers to an already overburdened federal program that costs taxpayers billions of dollars each year, the agency’s own documents show."

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/dec/30/usda-agencys-largesse-grows-crop-insurance/#ixzz2GwjWgxb5
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

Unregenerate Chauvinist: Big Hair, Nice Legs

That's my chauvinist reaction to the departing commander of the Space Station.  See her on Youtube here conducting a tour.

Who knew Sunita Williams held the record for space flight for a woman? And lots of other facts at Wikipedia.

John Phipps and the Fiscal Cliff Package

John says farmers made out like bandits.

Sept Extension of Farm Bill

Apparently the legislation which passed the Senate extends the 2008 farm legislation through September, although some disaster provisions weren't included. Sequestration is delayed for 2 months.  If it comes into effect, I think it hits direct payments.  

[Updated to reflect passage]

Bureaucrats and Civil Servants

Other English-speaking countries seem not to have the prejudice against bureaucrats we have in the US.  Based on Google alert, in the US it's a pejorative term, while in other countries it's more descriptive.

In India, there's even a horoscope for bureaucrats (hat tip Marginal Revolution).

Round Bales (of Cotton, Not Hay)

The cotton growers have discovered the virtues of round bales, according to this.  The piece mentions the changes ginners have to make, but nothing about the rest of the trade.  Back in the days of "King Cotton", we used to export bales on steamships.  I wonder whether we still export raw cotton today, and if so in what form?

It's Not All Partisanship in DC

Despite the headline news stories over the past week, month, year, decade from Washington, you'd be sorely slightly mistaken if you think the Capitol is solely devoted to partisan bickering.

The continuing saga of the farm bill is evidence to the contrary.  According to this Politico story from this morning, the four leaders of House and Senate agriculture committees are united in proposing a 1-year extension (i.e., through Sept. 30) of the 2008 farm legislation, but Speaker Boehner is opposed.

Battered Farmers and Extension

From a piece yesterday in the Times on prospects for an extension of the farm bill:

"Congressional aides say the extension could be for a year, giving farmers, who have been battered by the worst drought in 50 years, a reprieve after lawmakers were unable to come up with a new farm bill."

Funny, but I thought I'd seen some reporting showing that, at least for crop farmers with crop insurance, 2012 was a good year despite the drought.

Why There's People Talking Past Each Other?

Via MonkeyCage, here's a map showing school shootings in the US over the last 15 years. Not sure of the criteria, looks to be a rather low bar.  But two things struck me:

• a lot more shootings than I would have thought because it's not limited to mass shootings
• the wedge of states with none:  Montana, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas look to have no shootings.  I'm guessing, but I'd suspect these states are mostly rural and mostly retain the hunting culture I grew up in, a culture where kids went deer hunting when they were old enough, having a 30.06 rifle was a mark of maturity, and handguns were things brought back from WWII.  I suspect it's also an area with strong NRA representation.