Among other annual milestones, the month of May is home to Mother’s Day. On May 8, 1914, Congress declared that the second Sunday in May would be officially recognized as Mother’s Day and proclaimed America’s mothers the “greatest source of the country’s strength and inspiration” (P.R. 63-25, 63 H.J. Res. 263, May 8, 1914). Rooted in the post-Civil War era women’s movement, Anna M. Jarvis initiated Mother’s Day in May 1907 to memorialize her mother Ann’s activism, reviving a 30-year tradition started earlier by the poet Julia Ward Howe in 1870 in Boston (National Women’s History Alliance; Stonehill, April 1, 2024). On the 110th official Mother’s Day, we express our great appreciation for the mothers in our lives. We do not intend to tarnish the tribute with a discussion of farm bill matters but trust that moms will appreciate there is a job to be done. To that end, this article reviews the reference price components of the recent farm bill proposals, adding to the previous discussion (farmdoc daily, May 7, 2024).
