(LEX 18) — A critical piece of agricultural legislation, the Farm Bill governs dozens of ag and food programs, from rural development to nutrition.
The Farm Bill goes before Congress every five years, but after lawmakers failed to come to an agreement on a new Farm Bill, an extension was passed in 2024.
The Farm Bill is extended through September of 2025, but many farmers feel that an extension is merely a band-aid on a pressing issue.
“I'm thankful they gave us a year extension, which is a good thing, but we need to get the Farm Bill done,” said Shane Wiseman, a 5th generation farmer and the 1st VP for Kentucky Farm Bureau.
The Farm Bill originated as a response to a drop in U.S. crop prices after WWI, followed by the impact of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, according to the Library of Congress.
Years later, the Farm Bill looks a lot different, but its importance remains.
“A lot of people don't realize, they hear Farm Bill and they think, ‘Well I don't farm, that doesn't have anything to do with me,’ but that’s not the case," explained Wiseman.
The most recent Farm Bill, which passed in 2018, had a $428 billion budget, and about 76% of those funds were allocated to nutrition programming like SNAP benefits. The remaining funds were designated for crop insurance, commodities, and conservation.
Because of its wide-reaching impacts, advocates feel that a new Farm Bill is long overdue.
“To get a farm bill done, we have to bring everyone together in D.C. Normally our farm bill has been bipartisan, so hopefully we can get that done,” said Eddie Melton, Kentucky Farm Bureau president.
The landscape has changed since the last Farm Bill passed. Melton said that reference prices, for example, have to be updated.
“We've taken a downturn in the commodity markets right now although our input costs haven't, so those reference prices need to be adjusted to reflect what's currently going on at the farm,” said Melton.
Not to mention, the Farm Bill provides a safety net for producers as they navigate the market and the weather.
“It's so important for a farmer to have that baseline, that guarantee, because we spend a lot of money putting out crops and there's a lot of risk with that,” said Melton.
Caught in legislative limbo, farmers question how much longer they’ll be waiting for that vital piece of assurance.
“It's almost time we're getting ready to get our crops in the ground, and we need our insurance programs in place, we need to know everything. We borrow money to operate, and banks want to be reassured they'll get that money back, and that's just another step in that program,” said Wiseman.
