Two architects of the modern farm safety net — former Senators Tom Daschle and Bob Dole — have concluded that the current mix of costly farm subsidies have made some forms of agriculture about as risky as crossing at the light.

Daschle and Dole are farm state Senators and long-time farm policy leaders who have long stood behind the "three-legged stool" that combines three different subsidies — counter-cylical, loan deficiency, and direct payments — to overwhelmingly support five row crops grown primarily in eight states.

When you include subsidized crop insurance and disaster payments, the stool is actually more like a height-chair.

But as crop prices soar and farm household incomes rival those in the Senators' swanky Washington neighborhoods, even Daschle and Dole have said it time eliminate direct payments — which will cost roughly $25 billion over the next five years and be paid out regardless of market conditions — and instead invest in conservation and renewable energy.

Investing in biofuels, helping farmers profit from the coming cap on carbon emissions, renting land for hunting and fishing, and supporting other emerging markets will put a lot more food on the farm table than simply farming the treasury, according to their report, Competing and Succeeding in the 21st Century: New Markets for American Agriculture. They would replace the height-chair with a sturdy pair of crutches — a counter-cylical program and a "fair to all" marketing loan program subject to low payment limits.

In particular, Daschle and Dole would build on the 2005 Energy Bill, which included the ethanol mandate largely responsible for high corn and soybean prices, by dramatically increasing the renewable fuels mandate. They would also cap carbon emissions, and allow farmers to sell carbon reduction credits to power plants. To help farmers prepare for and profit from emerging these energy and carbon markets, they would create a no-interest revolving loan program.

Legislators should take notice when two farm state Senators who are notorious champions of farm subsidies say it's time to restructure and reduce our farm safety net.