Going back nearly 100 years, the history of the Farm Act largely follows the history of food production in the United States as the legislation evolves to meet the needs of its constituents today – farmers. and consumers. The role of agriculture in providing food security, and therefore national security, in the United States is more important than ever. And now, work on the next farm bill has begun during a time of volatility on all fronts – political, economic and beyond. So why is this food and agriculture bill so impactful and influential?
A history and brief history of the Farm Bill is provided here, along with a title-by-title description, including the programs encompassed in each title. This article is the first in a series of Market Intel articles that will dive deeper into Farm Bill programs.
For starters, the Farm Bill holds a lot of statutory power, but it also has a little something for everyone. From farm program and food policy payments to conservation initiatives and rural development, the Farm Bill provides mandatory and discretionary funding for many day-to-day programs and functions that impact and influence all demographics. and regional.
The passage and implementation of the Farm Bill has a unique timeline with serious consequences if lawmakers do not comply. Its five-year lifespan gives legislators the flexibility to update programs to suit current market and economic conditions. There have been 18 farm bills since the 1930s. If the farm bill were to expire without a new bill in place or if the programs were not granted an extension by Congress, all programs would revert to the 1949 bill, which means reverting to support price programs for the limited number of products covered by the bill. 73 year old law. Adjusted for inflation, these support prices would be well above even the current high market. This is helping to spur the urgency that farmers and ranchers – and Congress – feel to pass this legislation in a timely manner.
The Farm Bill refers to an authorization of mandatory and discretionary spending bills intended to provide assistance related to food and farms. It is a multi-year law that is primarily enforced by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and governs a wide variety of agriculture and food programs. Created to help struggling farmers in the 1930s, the Farm Bill has expanded to become a resource to help the industry grow and prosper in an ever-changing world. The current farm bill, the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, is due to expire on September 30, 2023. To prepare for the 2023 Farm Bill, discussions on how best to solve the problems of agriculture have already begun. . These will be particularly important given what the agricultural sector has faced in recent years and the various unknowns that farmers and ranchers face.
The Farm Bill provides policy makers with a consistent and important opportunity to comprehensively address agricultural and food issues. It has grown over decades to serve food and agriculture, but its roots are in supporting agricultural commodity programs. These traditional staples include corn, cotton, wheat, soybeans, rice, dairy products, peanuts and sugar. The Farm Bill has grown and expanded to include nutrition assistance, conservation, research, specialty crops and bioenergy programs. For that reason, the farm bill brings together some of the most unlikely partners to argue for a legislative package comprised of provisions that would likely not survive legislative bureaucracy as stand-alone measures.
The farm bill continues to be entangled in political debates and ideological political conversations. Over time, programs have been adjusted to respond to market and economic pressures from agriculture, the United States, and the world. As ideas are garnered for future farm bills, even in today’s debate, the question remains the same: How can the farm bill best serve its constituents?
Title I: Goods and disaster
The commodity title has provided certainty and predictability to eligible producers by reauthorizing and enhancing commodity, marketing loan, sugar, dairy and disaster programs.
Conservation Title provides voluntary conservation programs that farmers and ranchers use to improve their productivity and address natural resource and, increasingly, environmental concerns.
Conditions in agriculture after World War II and after the Korean War created a need to focus on trade and trade development programs.
First created with the Food Stamp Act of 1964, the nutrition credential is a mainstay of farm law discussions, of particular interest to urban voters and their representatives.
The Farm Bill Credit Title provides lending opportunities that private business entities cannot provide.
The rural development title has had a place in the Farm Bill since 1973 with the goal of creating and sustaining new competitive advantages in rural areas.
When the United States Department of Agriculture was created in 1862, it was primarily responsible for supporting agricultural research. Serving, technically, as the oldest farm bill title, stemming from the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862, the purpose was to establish and fund research at land-grant institutions in each state.
First created in the Farm Bill of 2002, the forest title gives authority to the United States Forest Service, which is the primary federal forest management agency.
Renewable energy, mainly ethanol and biodiesel production, has been boosted by the renewable fuel standard, which is not included in the agricultural bill. However, it sparked interest in developing Farm Bill energy programs.
The Horticulture credential is designated to specifically support specialty crops and certified organic and local foods.
Crop Insurance Title provides new and ongoing insurance products that producers can purchase through a public-private partnership. The insurance helps protect producers against losses resulting from price and yield risk on more than 445 million acres, in addition to a growing assortment of policies for animal agriculture.
The miscellaneous title contains a variety of programs. In most cases, these programs do not have a “main title” or are individual programs intended to solve specific problems. In the 2018 Farm Bill, the miscellaneous title focused primarily on livestock programs, agriculture and food defense, historically underserved producers, resource-constrained producers, and other miscellaneous provisions.
Another question that pops up every five years or so: is it a farm bill or a food bill or both? The nutrition title is the most expensive title in the farm bill, dominating nearly 80% of the bill’s spending. It governs programs used by people who cannot afford to buy food in times of hardship. As part of the federal welfare program portfolio, some are critical of the title’s spending levels. This has made the nutrition headline a political bone of contention for decades of Farm Bill debate, but essential to building a coalition of support.
The farm bill has always been a bipartisan effort. Some legislators focus on the nutrition portion of the farm bill due to the interest of constituents in their state and/or district, while other legislators focus on commodity programs due to the interests of their constituents. . More often, geography is a factor. The Traditional Farm Coalition includes corn in the Midwest, cotton in the South, and wheat in the Great Plains. The Expanded Traditional Farm Coalition includes soybeans with corn in the Midwest, peanuts with cotton in the South, and rice in the Mississippi Delta region. What opposes the agricultural coalition to itself? Historical ideology of agricultural policy.
Given the dwindling farming and ranching population, there is significant uncertainty that the Farm Coalition will get enough upvotes. Thus, the coalition in support of the Farm Bill grew significantly, raising the bill to gain enough votes to pass it.
A more recent development in farm law is the expectation that farmers will protect the environment, prompting environmental groups to push for the legislation as well. Similarly, the rural/urban coalition has worked to educate about the benefits of nutrition programs beyond high-density populations and demonstrated the value of including them in the agricultural bill. Additionally, since its inception, the Farm Bill has brought more and more stakeholders into the discussion, including national farmer groups, commodity associations, state organizations, nutrition officials and public health, and a variety of advocacy groups for conservation, recreation, rural development, local food systems, and certified organic production.
The Farm Bill ensures a safe and plentiful food supply, helps feed the hungry, invigorates rural communities and helps farmers care for the environment while continuing to provide food, feed, fuel and fibers in the United States and around the world.
On the farm side, those who use farm invoice programs appreciate the risk management tools that provide certainty and predictability. Tools like crop insurance products, marketing loans and commodity programs help producers get through tough times so they can pass the family farm on to the next generation. Families can put dinner on the table through nutrition assistance programs. Voluntary market-based incentives in conservation programs help provide growers with the tools and assistance needed to implement soil and water improvements. Rural communities have access to tools such as broadband grants and new Farm Bill business loans to help boost economic development and attract growth.
Just as agriculture changes and adapts to meet the needs of the times, the Farm Bill is called upon to do the same to meet the needs of its constituents. Approximately every five years, Congress passes a new Farm Bill to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world and ensure that essential programs continue to work for farmers and ranchers, families on a budget, and rural communities who strive to remain competitive.
The Farm Bill – or as it might be called, the Food and Farm Bill – has supported American agriculture for nearly 100 years, providing safe and affordable food, feed, fuel and fiber for the country and the world. It provides mandatory and discretionary funding to a number of day-to-day programs and functions to support food security, and in turn national security, for the United States. Hearings on the 2023 farm bill have already begun in Congress.
The American Farm Bureau Federation has reconvened its Farm Bill Task Force with representatives from all 50 states and Puerto Rico so that priorities fully supported by the entire AFBF organization can be set. The task force’s analysis will help Farm Bureau members across the country at the county, state, and national levels discuss and adopt Farm Bureau policy, which serves as our roadmap for engaging with the Congress. When evaluating the 2018 Farm Bill, Farm Bureau members should ask themselves: what is working and what is not, and how could the legislative package be improved? With respect to the 2023 Farm Bill, how have economic conditions changed in recent years and what expected conditions should farmers and ranchers prepare for? The answers to these questions will shape food and agriculture for the next five years and beyond.
