During the middle of a drought, our laws tell us that we can't let cattle graze on pasture set aside for conservation. Cows go hungry, farmers plow up conservation land for corn, and food prices rise. Nobody wins.

I'm just an aging farm boy with memories of drought, doing what he learned from his dad on a hot day in 1954.

A farm, a family, a job, a child to raise — there are a lot of balls to juggle. But at the end, on a good night, there's a job finished, a happy child and a homemade pizza.

The Farm Bill could do a lot. It could maintain the diversity of the food supply, and those who grow and raise it. It could insure we have another generation of independent farmers. It could, but it probably won't.