ChaChaCha - Your post was like a breath of fresh air. I know you are a Tea Party supporter and yet you do not approve of something that Michelle Bachmann is taking advantage of in reality while condemning other types of Federal spending.

As far as I could find, farm subsidies began in 1929 to help farmers in the Great Depression. I found some interesting material, too. The subsidy programs give farmers extra money for their crops and guarantee a price floor. For instance in the 2002 Farm Bill, for every bushel of wheat sold, farmers were paid an extra 52 cents and guaranteed a price of 3.86 from 2002–03 and 3.92 from 2004–2007.[16] That is, if the price of wheat in 2002 was 3.80 farmers would get an extra 58 cents per bushel (52 cents plus the $0.06 price difference).

Corn is the top crop for subsidy payments. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 mandates that billions of gallons of ethanol be blended into vehicle fuel each year, guaranteeing demand, but US corn ethanol subsidies are between $5.5 billion and $7.3 billion per year. Producers also benefit from a federal subsidy of 51 cents per gallon, additional state subsidies, and federal crop subsidies that can bring the total to 85 cents per gallon or more

Iowa is the leading state for subsidy payments and Texas is also right near the top.