For Policy Advocates

2022 US Farm Bill

What is the Farm Bill? (From National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition)

The farm bill connects the food on our plates, the farmers and ranchers who produce that food, and the natural resources – our soil, air and water – that make growing food possible.

The farm bill is a package of legislation passed roughly once every five years that has a tremendous impact on farming livelihoods, how food is grown, and what kinds of foods are grown. Covering programs ranging from crop insurance for farmers to healthy food access for low-income families, from beginning farmer training to support for sustainable farming practices, the farm bill sets the stage for our food and farm systems. As a leading advocate for family farmers and sustainable agriculture, it’s our job to make sure that this important bill is good for farmers, consumers, and for the natural environment.

Every five years, the farm bill expires and is updated: it goes through an extensive process where it is proposed, debated, and passed by Congress and is then signed into law by the President. Each farm bill has a unique title, and the current farm bill is called the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. It was enacted into law in December 2018 and expires in 2023.

The original farm bill(s) were enacted in three stages during the 1930s as part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation. Its three original goals –  to keep food prices fair for farmers and consumers, ensure an adequate food supply, and protect and sustain the country’s vital natural resources – responded to the economic and environmental crises of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. While the farm bill has changed in the last 70 years, its primary goals are the same.

Our food and farming system confronts new challenges today, but through citizen and stakeholder action for a fair farm bill, we can ensure the vibrancy and productivity of our agriculture, economy, and communities for generations to come.

Farm Bill Basics

1. WHAT DOES THE FARM BILL COVER?

2. WHO IN CONGRESS WRITES THE FARM BILL?

3. WHAT ISN’T IN THE FARM BILL?

4. HOW MUCH DOES THE FARM BILL COST?

5. HOW DOES THE FARM BILL PROCESS WORK?

1. What does the farm bill cover?

The farm bill’s chapters are called titles. The numbers and the substance matter of the titles can change over time.  The 2018 Farm Bill, for instance, has twelve titles.

Here’s what they’re called (and what they cover):

Title 1: Commodities.  The Commodities title covers price and income support for the farmers who raise widely-produced and traded non-perishable crops, like corn, soybeans, wheat, and rice – as well as dairy and sugar. The title also includes agricultural disaster assistance.
Title 2: Conservation.  The Conservation title covers programs that help farmers implement natural resource conservation efforts on working lands like pasture and cropland as well as land retirement and easement programs.  
Title 3: Trade. The Trade title covers food export subsidy programs and international food aid programs.
Title 4: Nutrition.  The Nutrition title covers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP] (formerly known as food stamps) as well as a variety of smaller nutrition programs to help low-income Americans afford food for their families.
Title 5: Credit.  The Credit title covers federal loan programs designed to help farmers access the financial credit (via direct loans as well as loan guarantees and other tools) they need to grow and sustain their farming operations.
Title 6: Rural Development.  The Rural Development title covers programs that help foster rural economic growth through rural business and community development (including farm businesses) as well as rural housing, and infrastructure.
Title 7: Research, Extension, and Related Matters.  The Research title covers farm and food research, education, and extension programs designed to support innovation, from federal labs and state university-affiliated research to vital training for the next generation of farmers and ranchers.
Title 8: Forestry.  The Forestry title covers forest-specific conservation programs that help farmers and rural communities to be stewards of forest resources.
Title 9:  Energy.  The Energy title covers programs that encourage growing and processing crops for biofuel, help farmers, ranchers and business owners install renewable energy systems, and support research related to energy.
Title 10: Horticulture. The Horticulture title covers farmers market and local food programs, funding for research and infrastructure for fruits, vegetables and other horticultural crops, and organic farming and certification programs.
Title 11: Crop Insurance.  The Crop Insurance title provides premium subsidies to farmers and subsidies to the private crop insurance companies who provide federal crop insurance to farmers to protect against losses in yield, crop revenue, or whole farm revenue. The title also provides USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) with the authority to research, develop, and modify insurance policies.
Title 12: Miscellaneous.  The Miscellaneous title is a bit of a catch-all.  The current title brings together six advocacy and outreach areas, including beginning, socially disadvantaged, and veteran farmers and ranchers, agricultural labor safety and workforce development, and livestock health.

2. Who in Congress writes the farm bill?

Members of Congress who sit on the Senate and House Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry hold the primary responsibility of drafting farm bills.

• The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

• The House Committee on Agriculture

3. What is not included in the farm bill?

While the Farm Bill covers a swath of key agricultural policy topics, there are some policy areas that are not included, such as: 

• Farm and food worker rights and protections

• Public land grazing rights

• Irrigation water rights 

• Food and Drug Administration (FDA) food safety 

• Renewable fuels standards 

• Tax issues 

• School meals 

• The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program 

• Some pesticide Laws 

• Clean Water Act

• Clean Air Act

While these issues are directly related to agriculture, they are not included in the farm bill because they fall outside of the jurisdiction of the Agriculture Committees and are instead considered under the jurisdiction of other committees. For example, Farmworker Rights and Protections fall under the jurisdiction of the House Education and Labor Committee and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. 

4. How much does the farm bill cost?

The 2018 Farm Bill is projected to cost about $428 billion over the five years of the bill’s life, according to the estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.

While all of the farm bill funding numbers are projections, some are more firm projections than others.  The costs of the bill’s three major groups of entitlement programs – the commodity, crop insurance, and SNAP programs – depend on what happens in the commodity markets and the general economy over the coming five years. Therefore, actual costs could be higher or lower than the projections.

Farm Bill priorities by organization:

• American Farm Bureau Federation

• American Farmland Trust

• Food Solutions New England: "Beyond Business As Usual: The Farm Bill as a Catalyst for Building Climate Resilience in New England"

• National Farmers Union

• Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire (NOFA-NH)

Monadnock Region Agricultural Commissions