Latest News From Farm Bill

The first look at a new farm bill could happen as early as next week. It’s long overdue after nothing was released out of Committee in 2023. Now, there’s growing doubt a farm bill will even be passed in 2024.

Odds of a new farm bill in 2024 are declining, with Senate leadership continuing to spar over climate funding and redirecting climate funds into the commodity title of the new farm bill.

Steve Cubbage says the upcoming farm bill could decide if the U.S. gets a taste for Europe's recent farmer protests.

The Fertilizer Research Act has been introduced by three senators to require USDA to study competition and trends in the fertilizer market.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates corn will hit the $4.26 Effective Reference Price for 2025 to 2027 crops.

An extension of the current farm bill is now a reality. House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders were able to extend the current legislation as a possible government shutdown looms.

Rep. Thompson, chairman of the House Ag Committee, continues to express optimism about passing a new farm bill in December in the House of Representatives. But he says an extension of the current farm bill is needed.

Bart Fischer, co-director of the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M, spotlights two topics that will be updated in the next farm bill.

Political unrest, a healthy ag economy and the start of an election year. These are all reasons economists in the October Ag Economists' Monthly Monitor think it could 2025 before Congress passes a new farm bill.

Work by the House or Senate Agriculture Committee on a new farm bill is essentially stalled, Randy Russell tells AgriTalk's Chip Flory. Russell says that could be the case until government funding issues are resolved.

With the government funding in place for now, work on a new farm bill can continue, with the same questions (timing, funding, Title 1 reform, etc.) still being unanswered. 

As Congress drew closer to a government shutdown, the news pressured commodity prices. The drop in commodity prices happened despite what some viewed as a fairly bullish September Grains Stocks report for corn. 

Members of Congress are currently in disagreement over how long it will take to get a new farm bill finished, which is why one ag economist fears it could take two years to finally see a new Farm Bill.

The 2018 Farm Bill is set to expire at the end of September. When Congress resumes, their top two priorities will have to be met before the Farm Bill becomes a priority.

I provide an update on the current status of the next farm bill, which looks highly unlikely to pass before the 2018 farm bill formally expires.

Farm Bill discussions and debates don't pack as much drama for producers. According to JohnPhipps, there's an unspoken realization that the Farm Bill doesn’t have the same influence on the farm economy it once did.

The 2023 farm bill may not be completed before it expires on September 30 but there is hope it could be done by year end.

House Ag Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson, along with other members, is seeking additional funding sources for the bill, but that will likely be the biggest farm bill hurdle that may trip up lawmakers.

The majority of ag economists don’t expect a farm bill to be written by the upcoming deadline, but a few think it could happen by the end of the year, according to the most recent Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor.

Dr. Carl Zulauf of Ohio State University, via a FarmDoc Daily article, proposes merging General CRP and Continuous CRP into a Site Specific CRP.

Erik Lichtenberg, University of Maryland professor, says Congress could reorient farm bill conservation funds for climate change, but it could cut into their support.

While Sen. McConnell says the budget has little give, Sen. Boozeman has consistently said he will not support a farm bill that doesn't provide an increase in the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program's reference prices.

The anti-farmer movement now underway by fringe extremist groups is not pro-animal. It is extremism promoting regressive policies that will chip away at America's historically stable -- and affordable -- food supply.

Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) opened the door to shifting almost $20 billion from her party’s climate and tax credit law enacted last year to more general spending in the upcoming farm bill.

The committee will meet on Thursday to officially set the toplines for each of the 12 appropriations bills. If all 12 bills aren't passed by year-end, automatic across-the-board cuts would kick in to push talks along.

It's not as simple as you might think. House Ag Chair G.T. Thompson shares a rundown of the funding and extension processes. He says the ag committees need to find new dollars to expand the farm bill budget.

National enrollment in ag and related science majors at two-year institutions grew 41% in Fall 2021. The Community College Ag Advancement Act aims to give these students more industry opportunities.

Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow, (D-Mich.) says there will be no new funding for the 2023 farm bill. However, Stabenow stressed she will not allow a cut in conservation funding.

The Senate and House Ag committees are facing delays in drafting the next farm bill, and it is expected to be the most expensive farm bill to date, clocking in at around $1.5 trillion.

“We can't prioritize one natural resource concern over all others and we shouldn't prioritize one solution above all others,” Rep. G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) said.

Rep. Thompson signaled he wants to hear “commitment from everyone, including the president, that we will get this done and in the manner I've been speaking about. Bipartisan, bicameral, on time and highly effective.'"

More than 75% of the farm bill is reserved for nutrition and SNAP. Congressmembers are looking to tighten the reins on SNAP benefits that "cost taxpayers billions and contribute to the nation's obesity," says Sen. Rubio.

Lenders In the hearing seemed to agree on a boost to lending limits in USDA guaranteed loans as lawmakers ready for the next farm bill.

The reason for the shift is rooted in financial improvements, according to James Mintert, professor in the Department of Ag Economics at Purdue.

During Thompson's presentation at a crop insurance event, he was passionate about getting a farm bill done, but acknowledged several hurdles that he said could be overcome in a bipartisan approach.  

Congress's ag committees on Monday received a letter, urging them to prioritize ag research infrastructure in the farm bill. According to a report, universities need a $50 billion ag research infrastructure overhaul.

Here we go again. Some farmers and at least one farm-state lawmaker want to move back to payments based on planted and not base acres.

“A commitment to additional financial resources for the farm bill will help to transition our farm and food supplies away from ad hoc support," the Committee members said in a letter.

A study released by Farm Bureau finds 86% of Americans are concerned about food insecurity, but their trust in farmers remains high at 89%.

“We don’t need to rewrite the entire farm bill,” Rep. Thompson (R-Pa.) says. “We’re comfortable with many parts of the 2018 bill and there aren’t many tweaks, instead things we need to protect and invest in."

We need to know the final funding level in the debt limit debate before there are can be any attempt to mix and match farm bill titles and funds.

Two recent studies confirm the notion that greater use of conserving practices such as no-till and cover cropping can reduce the incidence of prevented planting under the federal crop insurance program.

An early look at the report shows the House Ag Committee could push for improvements to the current safety net within Title I of the farm bill and move away from relying on Congress to approve ad hoc disaster aid.

As farmers in the Plains continue to see losses from drought, groups like NSP are discussing during Commodity Classic either permanent disaster aid or other changes to strengthen the safety net within Farm Bill.

ASA policy priorities during Commodity Classic focus on everything from the Farm Bill to EPA's recent Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) proposal, while also pushing for increased market access through trade. 

As drought creates a dire situation for farmers in the Southern Plains, National Sorghum Producers is not only concerned about the financial outlook for 2023, but how disaster aid payments will be dispersed for 2022. 

"The prioritization of resource concerns must be left to the local level where producers decide how they can best address their unique and varied landscapes and needs," said Sen. John Boozman.

SNAP, which historically receives the greatest amount of farm bill funding, will see an 82% increase of a quarter-trillion-dollars.

The House will take the reins in writing farm bill 2023. House Ag Chairman Thompson says the pen is “firmly” in his hand, with few tweaks to be made from 2018. The Senate says their version is nearly complete.

A Senate Ag Committee hearing Thursday on the new farm bill raised a issue that is now evident: the Title 1 farm bill safety net can no longer deal with the current ag environment.