Gearing Up for the Next Farm Bill

NOTE: This column is copyrighted material; therefore reproduction or retransmission is prohibited under U.S. copyright laws.

The following is a look at some key topics and questions as the debate about a new farm bill begins.

Timing. Does the next farm bill get done by the end of 2018, earlier, or will there be an extension? The answer depends in part on who leads Congress after November 8 elections. Also, will lawmakers get needed tweaks to the existing farm bill through this year... changes to cotton and dairy safety net programs... perhaps the Ag Risk Coverage (ARC) program.

2018 elections. Seven of nine Democrats on the Senate Ag Committee are up for reelection in the non-presidential elections of 2018. Several of the Democrats in those states have Republican governors. Four of the Senate Agriculture Committee seven are from states that Clinton presidential challenger Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) won – Klobuchar from Minnesota, Donnelly from Indiana, Heitkamp from North Dakota and Stabenow. Michigan was the first state Bernie won. Said one Washington contact, “They are going to be feeling heat from the far left. Food policy is an easy way to deliver leftist priorities.”

If the Democrats take control of the Senate after November 8, Agriculture panel Democrats will urge likely new Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to get a farm bill completed before 2018 elections. In 2018, Democrats will be defending 25 seats and Republicans only eight... 11 Democrats will be facing tough elections.

Budget... funding. Will Congress write the bill using current budget baseline, to cuts, or to increases? Election outcomes could also be key because if Republicans lose more seats in both chambers than expected, and also the White House, conservatives could push cuts.

Big issues in the next farm bill will play out over the year ahead as a host of issues are debated. Some of them:

— Crop insurance will remain a focus of those wanting no change to those wanting some reform, including funding cuts. An effort will be made to adjust the premium subsidy percentage taxpayers shell out. Efforts will be also be made to put a cap on insurance payouts, but sources think those will fail.

— Conservation program proponents want more funding and reform.

— Specialty crops dubbed last farm bill a “down payment,” so what will they seek this time?

— What do livestock groups want? They typically want a “balanced” farm policy and instead usually focus on trade policy. But a push for more indemnity (bird flu, etc.) and vaccine funding is likely.

— Safety net changes? ARC participants who got payments like the program, but those who did not and were from nearby counties want changes. Not many farmers choosing the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program are complaining.

— Look for a push to raise Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) maximum acres, as suggested by USDA Sec. Tom Vilsack. Congress could also tweak county limits on maximum CRP acres. Raising limit may not cost as much should low commodity prices linger.

— On conservation compliance, environmentalists want it to have “teeth,” a development some sources say suggests more aggressive USDA implementation.

— Food aid: What is prompting the push by some to divorce food aid from U.S. in-kind foodstuffs? The push to continue to “monetize” food aid will occur, but congressional contacts predict no major changes.

— Food stamps: If split off in the House, how do they pass a farm bill? Some ask, “Are Democrats opposed to any changes or reforms?” The same is being asked about crop insurance from those seeking cuts and reform.

— What do livestock groups want? They typically want a “balanced” farm policy and instead focus on trade policy. But a push for more indemnity (bird flu, etc.) and vaccine funding is likely.

— A key farm bill topic will be agricultural research. In the past, ag research title of farm bill was mostly relegated to staff. This time we see lawmakers taking a far more active interest. USDA’s spending on agricultural research now is less than it was in 2003, except for competitive research, while funding for National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation are showing annual increases. Also, Brazil and China now spend more on agricultural research than U.S. as a percent of their economy. It will not just be a funding increase, but also a push for the structure of agricultural research on where such research should take place, how and the management of the research.

— A big and controversial topic in new farm bill: sustainability. Food companies, activists groups are taking a big, early interest. Doing more with less with a focus on water, land, air and food policies. A key: How to provide farmer incentives to boost sustainability.

The Environmental Working Group released a report (link) that argues farmers should be required to adopt water quality practices and other conservation approaches in order to receive commodity and subsidy payments. “Federal farm bill conservation programs, which are voluntary, can play an important role, but they aren’t leading to clean water, clean air and a healthy environment,” said the report, which found the USDA has spent $29.8 billion on conservation programs since 2005. “It’s not fair to ask taxpayers to pay for everything farmers should be doing anyway to be good neighbors to those across the road, downstream or downwind.”

The EWG report comes amid growing concerns about the environmental effects of farming. Nutrients running off fields have been linked to toxic algal blooms in Lake Erie, the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere, while wildlife habitat continues to disappear for the sake of added cropland, among other problems touted by green groups. While farmers and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack say the solution is greater resources and incentives for voluntary programs, environmental advocates are increasingly arguing the government needs to put in place involuntary measures to force change.

“Farmers are the original conservationists; they want to take care of their land; they want to do the right thing; and they are going to participate in programs that make sense to them because they want to,” said Callie Eideberg, senior policy manager for sustainable agriculture at the Environmental Defense Fund. “When you talk about forcing farmers to do something, especially in the conservation world, it takes away that enthusiasm.”

Other efforts will be made to increase urban support for a new farm bill. Recall that the first farm bill-related bill this go round from former (and perhaps the next) Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) was on “urban agriculture”... cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around a town, or city... can also involve animal husbandry, aquaculture, agroforestry, urban beekeeping, and horticulture.

The next farm bill will not just be for “traditional ag stakeholders” such as farm and commodity groups, but will include a much wider and growing tent of players who will attempt to build coalitions.

The fate of the new farm bill could turn on a final vote in the House and one tied to food stamps, which will likely be separated in the House from its version of the farm bill. While sources see both the farm bill and food stamps being brought together again in an eventual House-Senate farm bill conference report, some ask whether or not the House will be able to garner the needed 218 votes if the final new farm bill does not please enough Republicans pushing for food stamp reform.

NOTE: This column is copyrighted material; therefore reproduction or retransmission is prohibited under U.S. copyright laws.