Last week was an abundance of activity to conclude the 118th Congress, as a potential government shutdown loomed over Friday. By the end, an agreement was reached to not only temporarily fund federal operations, but also extend the farm bill.
The final version passed the House 366-34 and the Senate 85-11. It included a continuing resolution (CR) to temporarily extend current levels of federal funding until March 14, a one-year farm bill extension, $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in economic assistance to farmers.
This is the second extension of the current farm bill that was passed back in 2018. It is meant to be renegotiated every five years, but partisan divides have stalled any progress made this year.
While not ideal, the extension was necessary to keep key farm safety net programs in place to prevent marketplace disruption from the farm level to food prices.
Without a new farm bill, agricultural producers who are facing high interest rates, lower commodity prices and reduced government funding requested additional provisions be included. The $10 billion in economic assistance will be issued in one-time payments for farmers through the USDA.
Farmers affected by recent natural disasters are expected to get $20 billion of the $100 billion in disaster aid.
“For many farmers, the disaster relief provided through the CR will be the difference between planting for another year or going out of business,” said Zippy Duvall, American Farm Bureau Federation president.
However, these are short-term solutions for American agriculture.
Duvall continued, “The economic and disaster assistance in the CR is a temporary fix to long-term challenges facing America’s farmers. The farm bill extension also offers a short reprieve and gives lawmakers some breathing room to pass a modernized farm bill that will provide risk management support.”
The 119th Congress will start on Jan. 3 with the new or returning members elected in November. They will be tasked with funding the government past March 14 and attempt to do something the previous Congress could not – pass a new farm bill.
