Cash-Strapped Farmers Say Screw Conservation

Cash-Strapped Farmers Say Screw Conservation

Out on the farm, the ducks and pheasants are losing ground.

Paul Devlin works at a bakery in Tampa, Fla. The bakery's owner said the price he paid for flour had doubled since October.

Thousands of farmers are taking their fields out of the government's biggest conservation program, which pays them not to cultivate. They are spurning guaranteed annual payments for a chance to cash in on the boom in wheat, soybeans, corn and other crops. Last fall, they took back as many acres as are in Rhode Island and Delaware combined.

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