LYONS, Neb. - The Rural American Preservation Act of 2011, sponsored by Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Tim Johnson of South Dakota, would further restrict subsides to the nation's largest farms and lower the cap for farm commodity payments.



Chuck Hassebrook, executive director of the Center for Rural Affairs, says closing loopholes for mega-farms will end a practice that drives smaller operations out of business. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the legislation could save $1 billion over ten years, and Hassebrook says that money could be put to better use.



"If we took this bill and just took the money it saved and reinvested it in small business development and community development programs for rural areas, it could make a real difference in the future of rural America."



Hassebrook says mega-farms have the resources to get around current rules, and this bill improves the standard the U.S. Department of Agriculture would use to determine if subsidy recipients are actually farmers or just outside investors.



"You got to be out there working, you got to be out there providing on-site management, one or the other, and you have to doing a significant amount of it if you are qualify as a farmer eligible to qualify the farm for another set of payments up to the limit."



He says the legislation would limit farm payments to $250,000 dollars for a married couple, to better target the money to family farmers.