What is the Farm Bill?

Calling the Farm Bill a “farm” bill might be a bit of a misnomer. Here’s why:

It’s wide-ranging and important

Calling the Farm Bill “big” is not an understatement. The bill impacts issues ranging from commodity crops, agricultural research, rural development, farm credit, nutrition assistance, and food safety to environmental conservation, energy and international trade.

Mostly though, the bill drives USDA policy to answer questions that determine what kinds of food people in the U.S. eat:  Which crops can farmers get paid by the government to grow? Which plant and animal varieties should get federal funding for research and development? How will farmers get stable prices even if supply outpaces demand? What happens when bad weather leads to a poor harvest?

Since USDA policy determines what farmers are most likely to grow, feeding 300 million Americans (not to mention exports), it’s not surprising that the Farm Bill is…

Massive

Recent bills have approached one trillion dollars in spending. Granted, that’s one trillion allocated over 5 years. But still, a trillion dollars is a thousand billion dollars. Big budget numbers make the Farm Bill an especially tempting target for cuts.

A majority of that money supports the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP). Nutrition programs were originally introduced to the Farm Bill not only to benefit Americans experiencing food insecurity, but also to provide farmers with an additional supply outlet following the Great Depression. Today, SNAP helps feed people and still helps to boost our economy—SNAP benefits that are spent at local food co-ops and grocery stores lead to more jobs, wages and economic activity in the community. Folks that use their SNAP benefits to purchase locally grown or produced foods at co-ops or farmers markets can make even more of a local economic impact. Despite these positives, the Farm Bill is still…

Controversial

The Farm Bill was intentionally designed to unite the interests of people in rural areas (farmers) with the interests of people in urban areas (eaters). Theoretically, this makes Congress’s job easier. However, given that the Farm Bill impacts so many aspects of the political landscape and amounts to a significant amount of money, the bill often creates debate. Political party politics sometimes delay passage of the bill beyond its… 

Five-year expiration date

Typically, Farm Bills carry an expiration date of five years from the time they are signed into law, at which point Congress must debate, amend and reauthorize the bill. The five-year timespan is meant to provide farmers with a measure of stability and predictability. After all, the Farm Bill guides farmers’ long-range planning, not least of which is deciding what to plant for the next season’s harvest. Whenever political party debates delay passage of the Farm Bill, farmers justifiably get a little antsy. But if you’re envisioning mostly small family farmers wringing their hands with worry, think again because the Farm Bill overwhelmingly…

Favors large-scale agribusiness

The Farm Bill mostly supports “commodity crop” growers—agribusinesses that grow enormous amounts of crops like the corn and soy that end up in animal feed and processed foods. Agribusinesses are huge companies that employ many farmers, rather than farmers owning their own farm business, which used to be the norm. Commodity crops are eligible for federal subsidies, so agribusiness has a considerable stake in lobbying for a continuation of the current Farm Bill policies. That said, progressive programs that address the needs of small farmers working to supply their local communities with nutritious food have gained ground in recent years due to the work of advocacy groups such as the National Organic Coalition.