01/25/06 Spying on farmers

With all the hype over the fact our government uses secret surveillance techniques to stop terrorism it seems like an inopportune time for the USDA to reveal that they monitor farmers via satellite for crop insurance fraud. According to a recent AP story the Department of AG's Farm Service agency has reported successfully using satellite imagery to bust dishonest farmers who cheat on crop insurance. The agency claims that since 2001 they have recouped between 71-110 million dollars a year in fraud claims . If you farm, remember&. the eyes of the ever seeing satellite know exactly when you planted, how you irrigate and what crops you grow. Then there is international espionage, if we know what you are planting you can bet other countries with competing crops like the Soviet Union do as well. I'm certainly not "bugged" by spying, since I don't have anything to hide. When it comes to farming and insurance fraud I say go ahead and catch the bad apples before they spoil it for the whole bunch. I'm Susan Allen and this is Food Forethought. Source: Yahoo News Friday 1/13/06