Illegal Farm Payments Report

A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on illegal farm payments concluded that USDA had paid $49 million to 2,702 individuals who had adjust gross incomes that would likely make them ineligible for farm program payments under the 2002 Farm Bill, from a total of $16 billion in annual payments to about two million individuals and entities, USAgNet reports.
The report said USDA “does not have management controls… to verify that payments are made only to individuals who do not exceed income eligibility caps; for instance, USDA cannot obtain and use Internal Revenue Service data to confirm income.” ❖