What's Going on With the Farm Bill?
The new Farm Bill should have been in place by now, so what's going on?
Before going into nutrition, I think I heard of the Farm Bill, maybe once or twice? Definitely was not top of mind, I didn’t work on a farm, I’ve almost exclusively lived in suburban or urban areas, why would I pay attention to farm politics?
And yet here I am, pleading you to read below why you SHOULD care about the Farm Bill. Read more to learn what the Farm Bill actually encompasses, and how it impacts millions of Americans.
What is the Farm Bill?
The Farm Bill, or Farm Act, refers to a wide-ranging set of policies and legislation directly related to farming, nutrition, bioengineering, and in some cases forestry or rural communities. The first of these was the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, which was a part of the New Deal. The Farm Bill not only funds conservation efforts and disaster assistance for farmers, but covers food assistance programs like SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The Farm Bill Process
These policies are usually passed on a 5-year legislative cycle.
Step 1: Lobbying and Exploration
A year or two before the current legislation passes, members of the House and Senate Agriculture committees consult stakeholders including farmers, scientists, rural community members, state and local officials, and people directly from the food industry. This includes having stakeholders lobby and testify for their case and their proposed requests for a new farm bill.
Step 2: Budgeting and Parallel Committee Processing
The House Budget sets a new budget for the incoming Farm Bill, and the House and Senate Agriculture committees begin to discuss what they’d like on the farm bill. After each committee comes to a consensus, the individual farm bill drafts from each committee are presented. Once the committees reach a compromise, House and Senate leadership appoint a joint committee to create a bill that can be passed in both the House and Senate and then presented to the President to be officially ~passed~.
The Current Farm Bill: Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018
The current iteration of the Farm Bill was passed in December 2018, under the Trump Administration. For more the breakdown of the Farm Bill, you can read it, in it’s entirety here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/2/text
Why This Matters Now:
The Farm Bill technically expired in Sept. 2023, but has since been extended without a date for a new bill anywhere in sight. A new bill was supposed to be passed prior to October recess in 2024, however, due to the continuing stalemate within the committees, the farm bill has been pushed back as a matter to deal with in November.
As I write this, it is two days till the election, and it remains continually important to point out how policies directly impact our food supply and access to food.
As it stands now, many of the programs that are funded directly through the farm bill have funding till the end of 2024, however, once the new year hits, many of the crop policies will revert back to “permanent law”, which would quite literally take policy back to the 1930s and 1940s.
Why Is It Taking So Long? Proposed Budget Cuts for SNAP and the Thrifty Food Plan
SNAP seems to always be a point of contention for many, and this is no different. The proposed new plan by the House Agriculture Committee would cut SNAP benefits to around 40 million people by 2027, as it is seeking an adjustment to the Thrifty Food Plan. This has led to a continued stalemate as the House and Senate committees cannot come to a compromise regarding these cuts.
So, what can we do….? VOTE! You should want to vote both locally and at the state level for individuals who not only care for your best interest, but also making sure millions of American have access to food, and fight for that right.
Remember food IS a universal human right.
That’s all for now, treat yourself well as we enter the incoming hellacious news cycle.
Sources:
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-commodity-policy/u-s-farm-bill-development-and-passage/
https://www.loc.gov/ghe/cascade/index.html?appid=1821e70c01de48ae899a7ff708d6ad8b
https://www.britannica.com/event/New-Deal
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/2/text
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/10/02/delayed-farm-bill-punted-until-after-election-with-congress-stuck-on-how-to-pay-for-it/#:~:text=Congress%20must%20approve%20a%20new,30%2C%202024.
https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/house-committee-farm-bills-30-billion-snap-cut-other-harmful-proposals