Farm Bill Rundown

It’s the end of 2018 which means the farm bill is up for reauthorization in congress. The farm bill is a comprehensive piece of legislation that dictates the programs, regulations, and government spending that shape our food system — yet only 20 percent of registered voters in America report being familiar with it (1). The bill is currently sitting in congress with its passage before the September 30th expiration of the previous farm bill looking extremely unlikely. But what exactly is the farm bill, why is it struggling to get through congress and what is on the line if it doesn’t?

The first farm bill dates back to 1933 and was part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal Legislation. America was in the midst of the Great Depression and hunger and poverty were widespread throughout the country. Farmers were producing food to scrape by but Americans didn’t have the money to buy up their goods. Then the Dust Bowl hit which just served to intensify the crisis. Agricultural prices tanked and the government responded by paying farmers to reduce their production and then buying surplus goods to feed hundreds of thousands of hungry Americans. This became the first of 17 farm bills which recognized that the needs of farmers and America’s hungry were intertwined (2). The three original goals of the farm bill were to ensure an adequate food supply, to keep food prices fair for farmers and consumers, and to protect the country’s natural resources (3).

Since then congress has passed a new farm bill about every five years that determines policies on nutrition, crop insurance, conservation and commodities. But like any bureaucratic process the road to a new farm bill is long and complex. A bill is not started from scratch but built upon the previous one.The process begins with hearings, or listening sessions where members of congress take input from the public about what they hope to see in the new bill. Then the House and Senate Agriculture Committees each work on their versions of the bill which are then “scored” by the Congressional Budget Office to essentially estimate the cost of the bill. For example, the 2014 farm bill was projected to cost about $489 billion over it’s five year life span. Once the House and Senate finalize their versions they need to collaborate to create a final consolidated bill to send to the President. Finally, when the bill is passed the USDA begins the hard work of implementation, interpreting the bill and putting it into action.

The 2018 farm bill is technically meant to be approved by September 30th but if congress fails to meet that deadline — which looks to be the most likely scenario, Congress will vote to temporarily extend the 2014 farm bill (2). One of the main issues holding up the bill are the changes in the house version concerning the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP, which helps over 40 million Americans buy groceries, is the United State’s largest anti-hunger program and accounts for about 80% of the money spent on farm bill programs. But the new version of the House Bill includes a revamp of snap eligibility with the goal of putting more people to work. A preliminary estimate shows that 5 to 7 million people would be affected by these new requirements (4). The House Farm Bill would also tighten eligibility criteria for SNAP which would result in some 400,000 households losing their SNAP benefits. The Center on Budget and public priorities found that the House Farm Bill proposes cutting SNAP by 20 billion over the next ten years (1). The passage of the bill in the house relied solely on Republican lawmakers after Democrats revolted over the proposed changes to SNAP. That makes this bill the first farm bill to pass either chamber with only one party support. The Senate bill on the other hand did not include any major changes to SNAP and passed with bipartisan support (5).

The House Bill also takes a different approach than the senate bill to conservation programs. Under the House Bill one of the USDA’s major conservation initiatives would be eliminated and nearly $800 would be cut in conservation funding over the next ten years. The Senate program, on the other hand would maintain conservation funding and expand resources for certain initiatives such as the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, which helps producers install and maintain conservation activities like cover cropping and nutrient management (5).

If the farm bill doesn’t get passed by the September 30th deadline there could be some major consequences. Most programs will retain funding but programs that require annual funding approval will not be renewed. Major conservation initiatives might still receive mandatory funding, but the USDA would lose the authority to operate the programs. Additionally, dozens of lower-profile programs like those promoting local and regional food systems, international trade, and bioenergy development, would be left without funding (6). The residual effects of programs that have been in place until now will hold over for a little while. But the longer it takes to get the new farm bill passed the greater the harm to the confidence in our farm economy.

We need a strong bipartisan bill that supports sustainable agriculture. Farmers’ profitability is threatened by low commodity prices and extreme weather events and uncertainty is heightened by trade wars and water quality lawsuits. American farmers and ranchers are struggling from a sustained downturn in commodity prices that has caused net farm income to drop by as much as 50% over the last few years. The downturn in farm income over the past few years has driven farm debt to a record high of $407 billion (7). Farmers also face uncertainty over Trump’s aggressive trade agenda which could lead to protracted trade wars with China and even with the US’s allies such as the European Union, Canada, and Mexico. American farmers are amazingly resilient but they need a strong farm program to sustain our nation’s food security and families need reassurance that they can put food on the table through tough financial times. Let’s hope Congress will recognize that.

You can sign this petition at change.org from the Nationals Farmers Union to tell congress not to cut farm bill farming.

1. Martin, Bob. “Voters Expect a Sustainable Farm Bill for All.” TheHill, The Hill, 21 Sept. 2018, thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/407774-voters-expect-a-sustainable-farm-bill-for-all.
2. Martin, Bob. “Voters Expect a Sustainable Farm Bill for All.” TheHill, The Hill, 21 Sept. 2018, thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/407774-voters-expect-a-sustainable-farm-bill-for-all.
3. “What Is the Farm Bill?” National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, sustainableagriculture.net/our-work/campaigns/fbcampaign/what-is-the-farm-bill/.
4. April 12th, 2018by H. Claire Brown. “Everything You Need to Know about the 2018 Farm Bill in Fewer than 500 Words.” New Food Economy, 12 Apr. 2018, newfoodeconomy.org/farm-bill-2018-snap-house-agriculture-committee-trump/.
5. Boudreau, Catherine. “House Farm Bill Passes with Controversial Food Stamp Changes.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 21 June 2018, www.politico.com/story/2018/06/21/house-passes-farm-bill-663124.
6. Mccrimmon, Ryan. “Consequences of a Missed Farm Bill Deadline.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 24 Sept. 2018, www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-agriculture/2018/09/24/consequences-of-a-missed-farm-bill-deadline-349354.
7. “Congress Can and Must Complete the Farm Bill.” American Farm Bureau Federation — The Voice of Agriculture, www.fb.org/viewpoints/congress-can-and-must-complete-the-farm-bill.