Future of the family farm

Speaking from experience as a farm wife, there is no way to make a living with farm income only, we supplement our farm income by selling and servicing Vermeer hay equipment the last 35 years. There is no way a young couple could ever make the farm go with prohibitive prices for fuel, trucks, combines and other farm related equipment -- including hay equipment! The ratio of farm income to other income is appalliing - farmers are the only producers that take what they are offered -- all other producers set a price according to what they have invested in the product -- but the gov't has a way of keeping food prices cheap -- go figure!

But shouldn't the free market dictate prices of selling and buying goods?

Yes, the free market should dictate all commodity prices. And yes, that might result in no more rice being grown in California deserts. And farm subsidies should no longer double tax US citizens (via tax dollars going to farm corporations and artificially high prices at the grocery store). Consumers may pay more for US grown products, or organice products, but that is ultimately a market decision, not one for DC politicians to line the pockets of their pork barrel supporting lobbyists.