Instead of letting the Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack cut funding to programs set in place to serve those in need — such as the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) assistance program — the senator came to the rescue to point out where money could be saved in other areas of Vilsack’s department.

“If budgets need to be tightened to provide nutrition services for women and children or housing for the elderly and disabled in rural areas, it is unclear why the USDA is funding these projects when there is already a market for all of these products,” Coburn, known for keeping an eye out for wasteful spending, wrote in a letter dated June 19.  “The federal government should not be screaming for ice cream when it is screaming about sequestration.”

From funding to market pizza at Broadfork Farm in Virginia to a social media grant for the state’s MeadowCroft Farm’s pickles, Coburn found a variety of ways in which taxpayer dollars are allocated in some quite interesting ways.  See the list below for a few more areas in which Coburn wishes to cut funding:

1. Bloody Mary mix

With Obama’s budget proposal imposing a tax on flavored alcohols, maybe it’s time to find a new favorite beverage.  West Virginia’s Fish Hawk Acres will receive a $45,000 grant in order to market their Bloody Mary mix.

2. Fish Food

The Indian Soybean Alliance is about much more than vegetables.  The organization is expanding its soybean market with a $15,000 grant to an “aquaculture” field studying the feasibility of manufacturing fish food.

3. Ice Cream

Baskin-Robbins would love the grant Glenmary Gardens in Virginia received.  Michael Richard, the farm’s owner, will receive $213,000 in order to expand his strawberry and fruit processing to include producing and marketing ice cream, flavored syrups and jellies.

4. Martha’s Vineyard

Thought Martha’s Vineyard was just a fancy vacation spot for the wealthy? Well, think again. Coburn found that the island is still eligible to receive federal housing and other assistance since it has been declared a “rural area eligible for taxpayer-backed home loans by the USDA.” So what happens if someone defaults on one of these loans — which doesn’t require a down payment?  Well, the Rural Development division’s taxpayer dollars will finish paying that off.

5. Wine

The USDA’s Rural Development division just can’t let California be known as the only major wine-producing state.  Thanks to its wine-related initiatives, the Mackinaw Trail Winery in Michigan could see $300,000 to expand their own wine sales and marketing.