In the United States, the federal government has been involved with, and provided subsidies for, farmers and the agriculture sector since at least 1862, when the Morrell Act established the Land Grant University system to encourage both agricultural research and education. Beginning in 1933, with the Agricultural Adjustment Act, farm policy became increasingly focused on providing direct subsidies for farmers to increase farm household incomes, especially when commodity prices were low. After eight decades of federal support, most farm organizations in the United States have come to view farm subsidies as tax payer funds to which the are entitled and are mortified when policy makers or other commentators suggest.