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Here is what the Center for Rural Affairs, a nonprofit rural advocacy group, said about the federal farm bill:

“This farm bill primarily serves the vested interests of mega farms at the expense of family farmers and ordinary rural Americans.”

That’s an apt description of the outdated $290 billion bill, bloated by subsidies and pork, which three members of Wisconsin’s House delegation and both of the state’s senators supported.

President Bush tried to stop this legislative mistake with a veto, but Congress quickly overrode it.

The infliction of the costly, misdirected farm bill on the American public highlights how important it is for the five laggards in Wisconsin’s congressional delegation who supported the measure to appreciate the need for farm policy reform.

At stake are America’s policies governing agriculture, a $28.6 billion a year industry in Wisconsin.

The policies that Wisconsin and the rest of America need must be suited to a new era, shaped by the global economy, a need to conserve resources, a growing demand for biofuels and an imperative to rein in government spending.

Five members of Wisconsin’s House delegation understood. Democrat Ron Kind and Republican Paul Ryan were vocal leaders for change.

Democrat Gwen Moore and Republicans Tom Petri and Jim Sensenbrenner deserve credit for voting against the bloated farm bill.

But Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl and Reps. Tammy Baldwin, David Obey and Steve Kagen, all Democrats, voted for the bill and helped override Bush’s veto.

Wisconsin voters should tell them, loud and clear, that the country wants farm bill reform.

We need to phase out farm subsidies, which total $43 billion over five years in the bill just passed. We need to replace them with a different safety net — one that protects farmers from price dives and stabilizes grocery costs for consumers — one that frees farmers to produce for a world market rather than for a government check.

And we need a farm bill that covers agriculture and food, and leaves out the tax breaks for racehorse owners, grants to broadcasters, aid to private corporations and other pork that bloats this bill.

Next time, get it right.