Last week's proposed US farm bill was launched less to a fanfare than to a collective susurration of chin-stroking, as farmers, lawmakers, agribusinesses and lobbyists all pondered its significance.

The international trade circuit had been eagerly awaiting the Bush administration's proposal for the bill, which will determine US subsidy payments for the next five years, keen to see the implications for the struggling so-called "Doha round" of trade talks which have been held back by disputes over farm support.