Feds should stop forcing farmers to pay for ad campaigns

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker won a huge victory for conservatives earlier this month when he beat back a recall election sponsored by public employee unions. At stake in that election were critical reforms to the unions’ privileges, including their ability to compel state workers to pay union dues whether they wanted to or not. Walker freed his state’s government workers from such compulsion. This week, senators should extend the same courtesy to America’s farmers, many of whom are forced by federal law to pay for government-run marketing programs. These are funded by “checkoff” payments that farmers must make to their respective commodity boards. If the farmers fail to make the payments, the secretary of agriculture is authorized to fine them anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000.