Farm Bill stalled as deadline quickly approaches. What happens if it isn't approved?
The deadline for a new Farm Bill is quickly approaching — and with the upcoming U.S. presidential election and political campaigns at their peak, many have given up hope and believe action won't happen until next year.
The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture passed its version in May, which changed its text on hemp to exclude "intoxicating hemp" — including delta-8 products and THC-a — and called for a significant decrease in funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, which subsidizes groceries for nearly 42 million Americans each month.
But the pending bill has remained mostly quiet since then, with no further progress on the House floor.
More: House excludes hemp from 2024 Farm Bill draft. What does this mean for delta-8 in Texas?
When is the deadline for a new Farm Bill?
The 2018 Farm Bill was set to expire last year, but lawmakers extended it for another year. Congress is required to sign a new bill by Sept. 30, or the bill will extend until Sept. 30, 2025. The bill is revised every five years.
What's the hold-up for the Farm Bill?
The Farm Bill is among the most controversial pieces of legislation in the U.S. because it covers much more than farming, leading to significant disagreements between Democrats and Republicans. A primary point of contention is funding for SNAP.
In the latest draft of the $1.5 trillion Farm Bill, Congress Republicans propose spending $50 billion over the next decade to raise price floors for major agricultural products such as corn, wheat, soybeans, cotton, and peanuts. However, to fund these new price floors, the House version of the bill would eliminate a 2018 provision that allowed increases to SNAP benefits.
During a House Agriculture Committee hearing on Wednesday, Ranking Member David Scott, D-Ga., expressed concern over the lack of bipartisanship and progress on a new Farm Bill following the committee’s approval in late May.
"I spoke with Speaker Johnson, and I believe he won’t bring this bill to the floor for a vote because it wasn’t crafted as a serious piece of legislation," Scott said during the meeting. "It was written to serve as a campaign slogan."
Meanwhile, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told Brownfield Ag News that she applauds the House for passing "a strong bipartisan bill," but she doesn't see the bill moving in the Senate, which is led by Democrats.
"Chairwoman Stabenow and the Democrats, they don’t want to focus on the Farm Bill. They are focusing a lot on other priorities," Ernst told Brownfield Ag News, adding that the biggest hold-up is their focus on the Green New Deal.
What is in the Farm Bill?
The Farm Bill is a $1.5 trillion program that consists of a lot more than just crops and livestock. In fact, it impacts everyone in one way or the other, whether through school lunch and government assistance or support of natural resources, such as our forests.
The legislation is broken into 12 sections, or titles. Each title addresses different aspects of agriculture and related sectors. Here's a summary of each title:
Commodities: Covers price and income support for farmers producing non-perishable crops, dairy and sugar, along with agricultural disaster assistance.
Conservation: Includes programs for natural resource conservation on working lands and land retirement and easement programs.
Trade: Covers food export subsidy programs and international food aid.
Nutrition: Encompasses SNAP and other nutrition programs to assist low-income Americans, as well as school lunches.
Credit: Focuses on federal loan programs to help farmers access financial credit.
Rural development: Supports rural economic growth through business and community development, rural housing and infrastructure.
Research, extension, and related matters: Funds farm and food research, education and extension programs.
Forestry: Addresses forest-specific conservation programs.
Energy: Encourages biofuel production, renewable energy installation and energy-related research.
Horticulture: Includes farmers market programs, research funding for horticultural crops and organic farming initiatives.
Crop Insurance: Provides subsidies for crop insurance premiums and supports the development of insurance policies.
Miscellaneous: Covers various advocacy and outreach areas such as support for beginning, socially disadvantaged, and veteran farmers, agricultural labor safety, workforce development and livestock health.
What are some of the recommended changes in the drafts for the new Farm Bill?
There are some fairly significant changes in the initial drafts of the new Farm Bill. Some of the major changes in suggested drafts and their respective chambers:
SNAP Cuts (U.S. House): The proposal suggests maintaining the Thrifty Food Plan without factoring in inflation adjustments, potentially leading to a reduction of approximately $30 billion in SNAP funding over the next decade. Over time, these cuts would amplify, resulting in diminishing adequacy of SNAP benefits.
Price Loss Coverage Increase (U.S. House): Price Loss Coverage Reference prices would increase by 10% to 20% depending on the commodity, simultaneously enhancing income protection for growers through the Agriculture Risk Coverage program and crop insurance.
Reallocate Conservation Funding (U.S. House): Incorporating Inflation Reduction Act conservation funding into the bill, the U.S. House proposes to remove the restrictions that limit money for climate-smart practices. Instead the funding would be reallocated toward modifications to the Conservation Reserve Program and reauthorize funding for feral swine eradication. It would also create a new Forest Conservation Easement Program.
Support for Underserved Producers (U.S. Senate): The Senate's bill seeks to increase financial support and price loss coverage for underserved producers (non-male and communities of color). The Senate also increases PLC by only 3 to 5%.
Rural Childcare Improvements (U.S. Senate): Prioritize projects for childcare facilities in rural areas.
Environmental Quality Incentives Updates (U.S. Senate): Expands the purposes of EQIP to include "promoting environmental quality and climate change adaptation and mitigation as compatible goals with agricultural production and forest management; assisting producers with complying with local, State, and national regulatory requirements concerning climate change adaptation, mitigation, and resilience; and providing flexible assistance to producers to install and maintain conservation practices that sustain food and fiber production while sequestering carbon, increasing drought resilience, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and conserving energy."
Farm Transitions (U.S. House): Reauthorize the Commission on Farm Transitions-Needs for 2050 and make improvement based on Committee Member Yadira Caraveo’s (D-Colo.) bipartisan legislation.
Farmland Tracking (U.S. House): Refine reporting mandates within the Agriculture Foreign Investment Disclosure Act to enhance monitoring of acquisitions of U.S. farmland by Chinese and other foreign entities.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Farm Bill 2024 deadline is coming. What happens if it isn't approved?
