Congress extends farm bill, debates new legislation

By Caleb Hampton 

A stopgap funding bill passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden has extended the farm bill for one year. Some farm bill programs were set to lapse on Dec. 31, while others expired in late September.

The temporary measure approved earlier this month will keep the federal government running through early 2024, giving lawmakers more time to agree on a full appropriations bill and a new farm bill.

The multiyear spending and policy package, which covers agriculture, conservation and food programs, was last updated in 2018. The extension forestalls any potential fallout from an expired farm bill, which farm groups warned could have catastrophic impacts on certain sectors.

Dairy farmers, for example, rely on a federal risk management program called the Dairy Margin Coverage Program, a part of the farm bill that provides monthly payments to dairy farmers. If the current program were to lapse, it would revert to a pricing structure from the 1930s. The “dairy cliff,” as the looming expiration is nicknamed, could sink dairy farms and have a dramatic impact on consumer prices and supply chains.

Matthew Viohl, director of federal policy for the California Farm Bureau, said the daily output of dairy farms means these impacts would be seen within a day or two of the bill expiring, unlike other commodities that are harvested on a seasonal basis.

“You have to keep milking the cows and bringing the milk to market. That’s why dairy was seen as the example of an immediate impact” of an expired farm bill, Viohl said. With the extension, he said, “we will not face the dairy cliff just yet, but in theory we could face all this again next year.”

Farm groups applauded the extension due to its necessity but urged Congress not to wait until the last minute to agree on a new bill, which is already overdue. Lawmakers typically enact a new farm bill every five years, making important updates to reflect the changing landscape of farming.

“The current farm bill was written before the pandemic, before inflation spiked and before global unrest sent shock waves through the food system,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said in a statement. “We need programs that reflect today’s realities.”

The farm bill impacts crop insurance policies, disaster programs, conservation efforts, food assistance, commodity promotion, forest management and agricultural research.

Farm groups had pushed for a new farm bill earlier this year, hoping to avoid the election-year dynamics that 2024 will bring. “Usually, trying to get major bipartisan legislation done in an election year is extremely challenging,” Viohl said. “That being said, I think most of the big players are hopeful that they can get it done early in the year.”

With California farmers growing a much wider variety of commodities than growers in other states, the California Farm Bureau has lobbied Congress to expand crop insurance programs to cover more crops. Federal crop insurance programs cover only about a quarter of the state’s roughly 400 commodities.

“A good criticism we hear from our members is that the farm bill has historically catered to big commodities like corn and soybeans, and it doesn’t help Western states as much,” Viohl said. “We are pushing very hard for the expansion of crop insurance protections.”

The Farm Bureau has also asked lawmakers to include robust forest management resources, more funding for U.S. Department of Agriculture programs and staffing, and revisions to income threshold and population density requirements that the group says prevent farmers from qualifying for federal programs that are intended for them.

“We are grateful Congress passed a farm bill extension to avoid serious program disruptions,” Duvall said. “However, we urge both the House and Senate to stay focused on a new, modernized farm bill that recognizes the many changes and challenges of the past five years.”

(Caleb Hampton is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at champton@cfbf.com.)