Former Agriculture Secretary Under Nixon Dies

Former agriculture secretary who served in the Nixon administration and succeeded in limiting subsidy payments to the nation’s largest farmers has died. Clifford Hardin died Sunday at his home in Lincoln, Neb. He was 94. As agriculture secretary, Hardin limited federal subsidies to any one farm to $55,000 on each of three basic crops that included cotton, wheat and feed grains. He also proposed a “set-aside” plan that called for farmers to agree to leave a percentage of their land idle to qualify for federal payments and price support. (The New York Times). Read more.