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Oregon Fast Fact: In Oregon it is illegal to use canned corn as fish bait
Year 20 • Issue 9 4 November 2013 1. From Sea to Shining Sea: Subsidy Millionaires Are Everywhere 2. What Sandy Taught Us: Quick Response Reports Look at Impacts and Recovery 3. WealthWorks 4. Agora Investment Platform 5. SNAP Benefits Reduced November 1, 2013 6. America’s Mood Map: An Interactive Guide to the United States of Attitude 7. Thirst for Cider Fuels 2 Towns’ Growth 8. An Evening of Sharing Skills and Resources 9. Italian Magazine Says U.S. Spies Listened to Pope, Vatican Says Unaware 10. Cover Oregon Hand Sorts 7,300 Paper Applications So Far 11. Travel Oregon 101 Training 12. Funding Opportunities 1. Sea to Shining Sea: Subsidy Millionaires Are Everywhere “Subsidy millionaires” are not your typical family farmers. They are individuals who each year collect more than $1 million each in crop insurance subsidies from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They own big agriculture operations – really big ones. And even though big agribusinesses are raking in record profits, the government ponies up lots of dough to cover a large share – 100 percent in some cases – of their insurance premiums. In 2011, the only year for which EWG was given more detailed data, there were 26 subsidy millionaires across the country. Congress doesn’t allow USDA to release their names, but the agency did identify what counties their crops were in. And they were all over the map, operating on 1.1 million acres of cropland in 174 counties. One grower is planting in as many as eight states! (See map below.) For every one of their fields, these subsidy millionaires get huge giveaways from the government. So much so that in six counties a single farmer banked more in premium subsidies than all of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients in that county – combined – got to help buy food. To access the full story, click here. 2. What Sandy Taught Us: Quick Response Reports Look at Impacts and Recovery It’s been a year since Hurricane Sandy barreled up the East Coast and from emergency agencies to nonprofit groups to media outlets, there’s been a lot of looking back at what we’ve learned and what progress has been made. Now it’s our turn. Shortly into the recovery phase, the Natural Hazard Center’s Quick Response Grant Program issued a special call for research related to Page 1 of 8