The Nation - News from May 8, 1985

A dozen congressional Democrats proposed sweeping changes in U.S. farm policy that they said would offer suffering farmers higher incomes at the expense of about $13 billion more on consumer food bills. The changes would include sharply higher government price supports for commodities like wheat and corn, together with a provision for farmer-imposed curbs on production. The sponsor, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), contended that the changes would help get rid of price-depressing surpluses and give farmers a way to earn their way out of their current financial stress.