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Comment by greglindahl | Hacker News Reader

Farmers (at least in the US) don't get any subsidies for vegetables.

US farmers do receive non crop based subsidies for growing vegetables. The absolute subsidy is far smaller, but far less land is used for vegetables 2.5 million acres vs 81.8 million acres of corn for grain, 47.8 million acres of wheat, and 89.6 million acres of soybeans.

Sources: http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/VegeSumm/VegeSu... https://www.nass.usda.gov/Newsroom/2018/06-29-2018.php

What are these non-crop-based vegetable subsidies you speak of?

Crop insurance for one thing: https://www.rma.usda.gov/pubs/2011/vegetable_growers.pdf

At the 75% coverage level the government pays 55% and the farmer pays 45%. Lower coverage levels get a higher subsidy.

But really it’s a smorgasbord of options.

This is not an accurate statement: see the USDA info on non-crop specific programs that are counted as farm support programs:

https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/fruit-tree-nuts/policy...

What % of these subsidies flow to vegetables?

https://www.pcrm.org/health/reports/agriculture-and-health-p...

> Between 1995 and 2009, USDA distributed more than $246 billion ($246,000,000,000) in subsidies. The subsidy system, updated approximately every five years, provides financial support primarily to producers of “commodity crops,” which include more than a dozen nonperishable crops. However, five commodity crops—corn, wheat, soybeans, cotton, and rice—receive the vast majority of subsidies.

Err, is corn not a vegetable?

I think it's considered more of a grain than a vegetable.

Corn is a heavily modified grass, so definitely a grain and not a vegetable.

More specifically (I looked it up because I was curious):

Maize is an annual grass in the family Gramineae, which includes such plants as wheat, rye, barley, rice, sorghum, and sugarcane.

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