More importantly, this still-widening river of federal money points to at least two longstanding problems with today’s farm program. If a key element in today’s crop insurance-centered farm program is ag exports, then tariffs are a wrench to grind its gears. For proof, look at farm program spending when the only two tariff programs in at least a generation were imposed by the Trump administrations. The second problem is the farm program itself. A cost-effective farm program built on crop insurance aimed at expanding ag exports may have been a good idea 20 years ago, but it has not aged well.