The Farm Bill expired on Saturday night. The 45-day budget extension that kept the Federal government from shutting down kept some critical Farm Bill programs alive; it is likely the new Farm Bill will take months before it is ready to be voted on.
Key worries include:
- Dairy program expires in December.
- SNAP — The ban on SNAP fees has ended (separate from the Farm Bill), and Republicans are demanding more work requirements on top of the work requirements SNAP already has.
- Safety net payments for farmers, e.g., crop insurance and conservation programs. The global crop insurance “book” is $40.7 billion. Most farmers with more than 500 acres rely upon crop insurance, and most bankers refuse to loan these farmers money to put their crops in the field unless the farmers take crop insurance.
- Although USDA continues to separate conservation programs from crop insurance, there is need to assess the land classifications and growing standards necessary for each crop the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation’s insurance program covers; doing so would provide new opportunities to assess how climate change affects crop insurance programs. Republicans so far have opposed any and all conservation programs that could be even remotely connected to climate change.
- Nutrition Programs are almost 80% of USDA’s Farm Bill budget. The major nutrition programs include:
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the food stamp program.
- The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)
- Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)
- Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP)
- (The child nutrition programs (e.g., the National School Lunch Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children [WIC]) are typically reauthorized in a child nutrition reauthorization bill—not a farm bill.)
The National Farmers Union has set solid priorities for the Farm Bill. See NFU priorities here.
The Bi-Partisan Policy Center report recommends Making Food and Nutrition Security a SNAP.
MY RURAL AMERICA can be expected to report on Farm Bill progress in more detail over the next months. Since many rural congressional districts are represented by Republicans, it will be especially important for farmers to watch their elected officials carefully to make sure farm needs are given adequate attention.