 Furthermore , Bedell was a sharp critic of Reagan 's agricultural policies , calling for John Block to resign after calling his agricultural plan a failure that was " dead on arrival " in both the House and the Senate . Reagan 's agricultural plan consisted primarily of a gradual reduction in farm subsidies . He also attacked the Department of Agriculture for " looking backward " when it dismissed the only expert on organic farming . Also , as chairman of the <unk> on Department Operations , Research and Foreign Agriculture , which was in charge of regulating USDA operations , he opposed the proposals Reagan had for reforming the organization . The proposals generally involved shifting costs for meat inspections and other USDA duties from the federal government to the industry . 
