After much anticipation, the House Agriculture Committee passed their version of the Farm Bill: The Farm, Food and Security Act of 2024 on May 24, 2024. Though next steps are unclear, lawmakers will continue negotiations with the hope of bringing the legislation before the full House of Representatives before it expires on September 30, 2024.
It remains critically important that the agriculture community stay engaged, committed and communicative with their respective legislator and policy leaders that this Farm Bill needs to be completed.
The big next step for the Farm Credit System will be to activate its grassroots advocates through the Farm Credit System-Phone 2 Action. (You may register as an advocate by scanning the QR code at the end of this article).
This includes directors, employees and customers. We ask advocates to send a letter to Congress, acknowledging the good progress made and urging Congress to continue negotiations to pass a strong, bipartisan Farm Bill as soon as possible.
So, what are some of the highlights behind the curtain being drummed up by our friends, the wizards of the Farm Bill. The Farm Bill passed through the House Agriculture Committee includes several revisions to strengthen the farm income safety net for producers, including higher reference prices for the Price Loss Coverage Program, higher protection levels for the Agriculture Risk Coverage Program, and higher subsidy protection levels for the Supplemental Coverage Option insurance policy. The bill would also increase long-term funding for the broad portfolio of conservation programs and make other changes to federal farm policy, including some expansion of food assistance programs.
The revisions come with costs, and in the current budget framework of pay as you go, the funding comes from cuts or budget offsets in other parts of the bill. The proposed cuts are where most of the debate and partisan divide occurred among members of the Committee. The bill proposes a substantial cut in projected spending for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the primary food assistance program included in the farm bill. The proposed cut is not so much a cut in current benefits as it is a reduction in potential future increases in benefits because of future adjustments in something called the Thrifty Food Plan.
The Thrifty Food Plan is revised periodically to reflect what households are purchasing and eating as a basis for calculating SNAP benefits. Benefits are already adjusted for inflation, so food plan revisions might not be expected to have major cost impacts, but the revisions enacted by the current administration after the 2018 Farm Bill added more spending to the SNAP program than the rest of the Farm Bill combined.
Other changes to be aware of relate to climate-smart agriculture, conservation programs, and use of Commodity Credit Corporation funding resources. With respect to Farm Credit System key interests, all of which have been positively addressed, the following are items we are laser focused on:
- Strengthening the federal crop insurance program,
- Boosting development of critical rural community facilities,
- Modernizing the Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan programs to increase loan limits, and
- Providing more credit opportunities for the commercial fishing industry.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., released her Farm Bill principles around the same time the House released its proposed language and argued against the funding changes the House was proposing, but has not released specific details or a clear picture of how she would pay for the changes she promises.
Years of hard work have gone into this process, and we are very pleased with the number of Farm Credit priorities included in this bill. We are very watchful of what will come out from behind the curtain.
To view the summer 2024 issue of Partners magazine in its entirety, click here.
