Promoted by Brendan

The National Rural Assembly recently convened in Washington to discuss issues of importance to rural America. About 400 delegates from 43 states participated.

The conference invited presidential candidates from both parties to speak. None did. Except for Hillary Clinton, who spoke via teleconference. The most interesting thing she said was in response to a question:

The first question from the crowd (read by Kellogg officer Ali Webb) asked if Clinton would consider changing “the name and the mission” of the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Rural Affairs. The Senator seemed genuinely startled and intrigued by the notion. “That’s a great idea,” Clinton answered, her eyes bugging. “I really like that idea...I wish I had thought of that...Lets talk about that, it’s a terrific idea.”

If the name was the only thing that changed, it wouldn't mean much.

But if the mission also changed, it would mean quite a lot.

She was saying, yes, the emphasis on the support payments for crops (like corn, wheat and rice) needs to be lessened and more time (and money) should be spent on rural development. Less money should go to extremely large farms, more money should be available for business loans, expansion of broadband, water and sewer projects and rural health care.

Sounds like a no-brainer to me. The USDA currently spends about $15 in farm subsidies for every $1 it spends on rural development.

Other disparities also need to be addressed. The Washington Post reported recently that the federal government spent $1.2 billion in agricultural subsidies in the dirt-poor, black-majority Mississippi Delta region of northwest Mississippi.

Most residents are black, but less than 5 percent of the money went to black farmers. They own relatively little land, and so they generally do not qualify for the payments. Ninety-five percent of the money went to large, commercial farms, virtually all of which have white owners.

Getting such changes through Congress, however, might be harder than ending the Iraq War, though. The huge agricultural corporations would fight it tooth and nail.

And with the Farm Bill up for reauthorization this year -- it comes up once every five years -- it might be a few years before major changes can be made.

But a good start would be to redefine the mission of the Department of Agriculture from corporate welfare to rural development.

It's just a shame that no other Democratic presidential candidates spoke to this group. It's also odd that no Republican candidate accepted an offer to speak since rural voters went heavily for Bush.

Crossposted at DKos.