U.S. farmers often face unfair attacks for receiving any assistance from a government safety net—never mind the fact that farm programs represent a mere 0.17 percent of the federal budget and enable this country to produce the world's safest and most affordable food supply.

But now, American farmers have additional ammunition to fight back against those who malign government support for agriculture: Last week, Phillip Brasher of The Des Moines Register reported that among developed countries, U.S. farmers remain among the least dependent on government support, according to an analysis released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

In the European Union, government support for agriculture last year amounted to 24 percent of gross farm receipts; in the United States, support was a mere 10 percent. Of the farmers in OECD nations, Americans are the third-least dependent on government support, behind only farmers in New Zealand and Australia.

And, according to Chris Clayton of DTN in his "Washington Insider" column, even during the global recession, spending on price support programs for crops in the United States remained "very low."

Plus, the OECD's evaluation of government interventions in agricultural markets (which included support payments in addition to other activities) estimated the value of EU interventions in 2009 at just less than $121 billion, while the value of U.S. interventions was just a quarter of the EU level at around $30 billion.

Wondering where all that money is going? Click here to see a breakdown of the EU's agricultural expenditures, part of the 2009 Foreign Ag Subsidy Handbook compiled by Texas Tech University. For the complete handbook, click here.