GOP field split over more ag subsidies

ArgusLeader.com
11:28 PM, Dec. 17, 2011
Written by Philip Brasher Argus Leader Washington Bureau

In Iowa, Republicans hear refrain: Leave a good thing alone

WASHINGTON — Seldom have things been this good in agriculture, and farmers don't want the next president to mess it up.

Don't touch the biofuels mandates. Don’t impose new regulations on farms. Seek to increase exports of grain and meat. Continue subsidies to protect farmers from price declines or losses in yield.

“Change could bring something that's much less acceptable,” said Dennis Friest, who said the ag economy is the best he’s seen in four decades of farming near Radcliffe, Iowa.

The Republican presidential candidates divide along fairly sharp ideological lines in agricultural policy.

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