For three generations the Kupyers have been adding to their property, building their farm from less than 700 acres to a 16,000-acre spread that they now own free and clear. Yet with spiraling energy costs, Mr. Kupyer said, the family would sell the farm if someone offered to buy it. Mr. Cover refused to discuss his subsidies. Andy Michael, the Hartley County commissioner and a rancher, said he discounted many complaints from big farmers like Mr. Kupyer. In his view, farmers complain to cover up how much money they are receiving from the government.
Farmers work the system.
There's no system for us to work. In the last five years, he said, the classic divide between farmers and ranchers, exploited in generations of cowboy movies, has gotten worse, because farmers are receiving bigger subsidy checks while ranchers get nothing. When times are tough for us, the rancher just tightens his belt. Business is good for Mr. Michael and many other farmers and ranchers in Dalhart, a town of more than 7,000 people midway between Dallas and Denver. Local farm equipment dealers report that despite the downturn in crop prices, their sales of tractors and other equipment are among the best in the country.