It's Yours. Not Theirs.You can “Follow the Money” at the Environmental Working Group site: Since June 12, the Farm Bill 2007 Database is Up and Running.  See for yourself what use your tax dollars get in this highly expensive bill.  This site has database by payment, starting with the Top 20 Recipients  (four are shown below). 

You can also look up statistics on these same companies that have disproportionately benefited by subsidy payments.  This is not about saving the farm–not at this level of gluttony.

Or, you can look up totals by state and Congressional district; 

Or,  figure out how many middlemen are used to funnel subsidy funds, each of whom get a cut; And, you can figure out how those funds aggregate into the hands of a few.

This will get you started: 

TOTAL USDA SUBSIDY PAYMENTS 1995-2005 
1.  Riceland Foods–USD  541,061,667.  This would be over half a trillion bucks.
2.  Producer’s Rice Mill    308,013,630.
3.  Farmer’s Rice Co-op   145,530,214.
4.  CHS Incorporated         49,037,456.

One interesting thing to note: nearly all of these large payments are commodity payments rather than disaster or conservation payments.  One exception is Ducks Unlimited–which administers payments for many private citizens engaged in restoring wetlands.  This database gives you the opportunity to see it all.  For more commentary by a specialist, go to Ken Cook’s Mulch Blog–an associated site.

Thanks for all the hard work, Mr. Cook and friends.