The long-awaited 2024 Farm Bill is picking up steam as both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees press forward, releasing key documents and proposals. In fact, the House Agriculture Committee has scheduled a full Committee mark-up for May 23.
The last Farm Bill was negotiated, passed, and signed into law in 2018. More than half of the current Congress were not Members at that time – meaning over 50% of the 118th Congress has never voted on, nor participated in a Farm Bill process.
So, what’s in a Farm Bill? We here at Farm Policy Facts are excited to share a high-level, title-by-title history and overview of this crucial piece of legislation that impacts every American, from the field to the dinner plate.
We hope this document and other materials like the Groundwork podcast and FarmPolicyFacts.org serve as helpful resources as the 2024 Farm Bill takes shape.
Farm Bill: A Short History and Summary
Since 2002, the Commodity Title has included a counter-cyclical feature to provide assistance to farmers when commodity prices or revenues fall below historic norms – today this takes place through Price Loss Coverage (PLC), and Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC). The Title also contains market-clearing Marketing Assistance Loans (MALs) for farmers of a whole host of commodities produced across the country. Meanwhile, dairy margin coverage and sugar loans serve the nation’s dairy farmers and sugarbeet and sugarcane farmers. Despite its vital importance, the Commodity Title makes up just 4.5 percent of the total Farm Bill budget and, together with Federal Crop Insurance, only 0.2 percent of the total Federal budget.
The Conservation Title to the Farm Bill has been recognized as one of the most effective environmental laws on the books today. Its policies include the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), and Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG).
Trade is vital to U.S. farm and ranch families. The U.S. exports roughly one fifth of the value of its agricultural production each year. Trade Title policies include, among others, Food for Peace, the Market Access Program (MAP), the Foreign Market Development Program (FMD), Food for Progress, the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust, McGovern-Dole, the Emerging Markets Program, and Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops. While some funds for these programs come from mandatory accounts (about $250 million per year for MAP and FMD), the bulk comes from annual appropriations.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is intended to provide food assistance to low-income families. The Nutrition Title also includes the Commodity Supplemental Food Program; the Emergency Food Assistance Program; Seniors’ Farmer Market Nutrition Programs; as well as programs to ensure availability of fresh fruits and vegetables for schools and healthy fluid milk incentives. Together, these programs comprise the vast majority of spending in the Farm Bill. Just over 81 percent of the baseline used to write the 2024 Farm Bill is devoted to nutrition programs.
The Credit Title is intended to ensure that farm and ranch families have the credit they need to produce the food, feed, fiber, and fuel we need. Farm operating and ownership loans are generally available for this purpose. The loans are administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) which has offices in most counties throughout the nation, though for efficiency, FSA can utilize a more streamlined guarantee program with participating local banks. There are also special programs with more favorable terms for beginning and young producers, as well as socially disadvantaged producers. There are also emergency loans available.
The Rural Development Title helps ensure that rural Americans receive proper health care, including through distance learning and telemedicine and through the financing of rural hospitals and other important community facilities. It provides access to quality high speed internet; rural electrification; water and waste facility loans, grants, and technical assistance; on-farm energy efficiency incentives, as well as rural business and industry initiatives to promote economic development on Main Street.
Title VII: Research and Extension
The laws that comprise much of the Research Title were the second wave of U.S. farm policy, with the goal of improving the quality of life on the farm and ranch, and promoting efficient farming and ranching techniques. These laws include the Smith-Lever Act that authorized extension programs under which the results of important agricultural research are shared with farm and ranch families to improve their practices. The 4-H program for young Americans is also a very recognizable example of the kinds of programs Smith-Lever authorizes. The Morrill Acts authorizing land grant colleges, including 1890s institutions, across the nation are yet another well-known example of the laws contained in the Research Title.
The mission of the Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978, the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003, and amendments made by Farm Bill legislation over the years constitute the bulk of the Forestry Title.
The aim of the Energy Title is to assist farmers, ranchers, and foresters to produce renewable energy to help the U.S. achieve energy independence, create jobs and economic activity in rural communities, to lower energy costs for consumers, and to achieve important environmental objectives. The first Energy Title to a Farm Bill was under the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002.
The purpose of the Horticulture Title is to help meet the needs of specialty crop producers, including producers of fruits, vegetables, nuts, nursery plants, as well as organic farming operations. It includes a local agricultural market program, an organic certification program as well as other organic initiatives, specialty crop block grants, technical assistance programs, and help to address pests and diseases.
In 1989, roughly 50 commodities were covered under Federal Crop Insurance. Today, over 130 crops are eligible for coverage, and the Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) represents the key cornerstone of the farm safety net for producers across the United States. By design, the public-private partnership that makes up the Federal Crop Insurance Program provides for more timely, dependable, and responsive relief for producers facing losses than costly ad hoc assistance.
The Miscellaneous Title is usually a catch all for important provisions that don’t fit well within the previous titles. In the 2018 Farm Bill, the Miscellaneous Title included a livestock subtitle addressing any number of issues, including animal disease prevention and management, an agriculture and food defense subtitle, a subtitle focusing on the needs of historically underserved producers, a USDA reorganization subtitle, and a subtitle addressing a variety of other issues.
Read more about the Farm Bill here.
Each title of the Farm Bill helps support American agriculture and national security, because food security does not happen by accident – it is a blessing that is fostered by smart policy.