The U.S. Senate on Friday passed an amendment to end certain farm subsidies for people who make more than a million U.S. dollars in adjusted gross income.

The amendment to a spending bill that includes Agriculture Department programs would further cut down income-qualification limits set in the last farm bill enacted more than three years ago.

Under the most current limits, some growers earning more than 1.2 million U.S. dollars in adjusted gross income can still qualify for the direct subsidies, which have been criticized much because they are paid regardless of crop prices and yields, unlike other more insurance-like programs that kick in when prices drop or crops are damaged.

The lawmakers want to abandon direct payments entirely, the type of subsidy targeted in Friday's vote, to shift some of the aid to other programs that cover falling prices and revenue drops as they are preparing for a new five-year farm bill in 2012.

In addition, Republicans and Democrats on the Agriculture panels have already submitted a joint proposal to cut 23 billion dollars from farm programs over 10 years, almost half of the direct payments cost during that period.

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