Effects of the US Farm Bill on Landowners and Farmers
Time is running out for Congress to vote on a newly proposed version of the farm bill, leaving some farmers and landowners in limbo when it comes to making decisions regarding varying aspects of their farming enterprises. The farm bill is renewed every 5 years, and has already seen a 1 year extension after it had been set to expire in 2012. The new extension expired September 30, 2013.
Earlier this summer, the House and Senate hammered out new versions of the Farm Bill. The Senate passed their version in June, and on July 11th, the House passed a so-called “Farm Only” version of the bill, seeking to separate out the supplemental food program (SNAP) from the bill and place it in separate legislation.
The Senate version of the farm bill is similar to the last extended 2008 legislation and includes the food program. It also retains the permanent farm laws of 1938 and 1949. The proposed House bill signals a shift in farm law policy by eliminating the supplemental food program from the farm bill, as well as eliminating the farm laws of 1938 and 1949. Eliminating these permanent farm laws would discontinue direct payments and make other adjustments, thereby saving money on commodity programs in the long run. The permanent farm laws in the proposed House legislation would be replaced with a new Title I, which would ensure that farm commodity programs would continue in the event that a new farm bill is not enacted or renewed.
At any rate, how would the proposed farm bill affect farmers and landowners? At the very least, they will face a bit of uncertainty until a farm bill is passed or renewed. The most immediate effects would be a possible end to direct payments and other various subsidies should some form of the House bill pass Congress. Many area farmers wonder how proposed changes might affect the crop insurance industry, and how these changes may affect their risk management decisions.
On September 19th, the House succeeded in passing another bill that attempts to address the SNAP benefits portions that has traditionally been included in the farm bill. As separate legislation, it contains $40 billion worth of cuts, out of $80 billion. These cuts would be spread out over a period of 10 years.
Now, the House and Senate need to go to Conference Committee and attempt to meld together the Senate’s version and the two separate House versions and then agree on passage of a new bill. Will they have the votes, and if so, will President Obama sign it into law, should portions of the House version pass committee containing cuts to the food stamp program? Time will tell, but these proposals will make for interesting political dynamics in an age of huge deficits and amid calls for fiscal responsibility.
To learn more about how the next farm bill may affect your land and tenants and to learn ways to minimize risk, set up a free consultation with one of our experienced farm mangers.
