The House and Senate release their versions of the 2024 Farm Bill and the hard work begins

This week, after months of delays, both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees released their versions of the 2024 Farm Bill. 

The House edition includes an increase in monetary support for Price Loss Coverage and Agriculture Risk Coverage programs in response to falling commodity prices and rising inflation. There is also a provision for farmers to expand base acres allowing more producers to participate in those programs. 

The Conservation title incorporates provisions from the 2018 Law utilizing voluntary, incentive-based, and locally led efforts by farmers and ranchers.

The framework also includes provisions to mitigate global food insecurity and provide U.S. producers with new markets.

Among the 12 titles is one for nutrition, the cost of which usually accounts for nearly 80 percent of USDA’s annual budget. New language permits the food insecure to continue working instead of being forced to choose between SNAP benefits and employment.

The Senate Agriculture Committee’s version of the legislation, called the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act, was released on the same day. The details were a bit more granular than the House version.

There are provisions to increase monetary support for the ARC and PLC programs as well as an opportunity to increase base acres. A specific line item increases CRP acres to 29 million by 2029 and the details for SNAP include language excluding income from employment and training when calculating eligibility. The conservation title also includes new triggers for emergency grazing on CRP ground. 

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association came out in support of the House version specifically for its support of voluntary conservation programs and investments in food security but downplayed any support for the Senate version.

The American Farm Bureau liked the programs that acknowledge farmers and ranchers needing monetary support in the face of falling commodity prices in both proposed bills. 

House markup will begin on May 23 but no date was given on when work will begin on the Senate version. Once the markups are completed, the harder job of working out the differences begins. The current Farm Bill expires on September 30.

For Market to Market, I’m David Miller.

contact: miller@iowapbs.org