farm the government
v. phr.— «Some farmers reaped large windfalls by “farming the government,” as maximizing subsidies came to be known.» —“Farming The Government” by Neil Howe, Richard Jackson Concord Coalition (Arlington, Virginia) Dec. 9, 1999. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Sarah in Fleming Island, Florida, is curious about the saying sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you, which suggests “it’s a dog-eat-dog world,” or “eat or be eaten,” or more gently, “you win...
Ryan from West Bolton, Vermont, who grew up on a farm, wonders if the noun harrow, meaning a “farm implement used for breaking up dirt” and the adjective harrowing, meaning “extremely painful” are etymologically related...