The news coverage for the consuming public about the so-called farm bill often is negative, focusing on payments to farmers.

In actuality, the bill titled “The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008,” is made up of 14 titles that contain funding for programs such as nutrition, conservation, trade, rural development, forestry, and energy.

Domestic nutrition programs such as food stamps and emergency food assistance make up the largest portion of the bill.

As the accompanying chart shows, only about 20 percent of the $307 billion in the bill goes to agriculture, while almost 70 percent goes to food and nutrition programs.