While politics is the art of what is possible at any given moment, it cannot ignore the dynamics of what today's politics leave for the future. With the farm bill finally in conference, we need to recognize that we are creating an Achilles heel that will almost inevitably undermine long-term public support for the price support structures that are essential to maintain a healthy farm economy and rural society.

This Achilles heel is the failure of Congress to effectively target farm program benefits to mid-size family farms through meaningful payment limitations. I am not talking about the easily circumvented means tests that Congress is now reluctantly accepting from the Bush administration. Instead, what we desperately need are the fundamentals of the Dorgan-Grassley payment limitation amendment written into the final conference bill.

While some members of Congress are holding on tightly to the heels of the farm program to keep the spigot wide open to the largest farms in the nation, there is a growing disenchantment with the farm program among groups that have traditionally aligned themselves with family farmers. This farm bill needs to take sound initial steps to target farm programs to serve family farmers. Otherwise, we will see more and more efforts to "reform" the farm bill by doing away with the very basic price support safety-net structures that are absolutely essential for renewal of the family farm system.

As part of targeting farm program payments, we also need to reform the system of direct payments that are a vestige of the 1996 Freedom to Fail farm law. Continuing direct payments in times of good farm prices make no sense. We should use these savings to underwrite the disaster program and provide an improved family farm safety net.

We need to remember the story of Achilles. You can hold on so tight that you create the very vulnerability that will become the basis of its future destruction.