United States farm bill

2008 Farm Bill logo.

In the United States, the farm bill is the primary agricultural and food policy tool of the federal government. The comprehensive omnibus bill is passed every 5 years or so by the United States Congress and deals with both agriculture and all other affairs under the purview of the United States Department of Agriculture.

It usually makes amendments and suspensions to provisions of permanent law, reauthorizes, amends, or repeals provisions of preceding temporary agricultural acts, and puts forth new policy provisions for a limited time into the future. Beginning in 1973, farm bills have included titles on commodity programs, trade, rural development, farm credit, conservation, agricultural research, food and nutrition programs, marketing, etc.

Farm bills can be highly controversial and can impact international trade, environmental conservation, food safety, and the well-being of rural communities. The agricultural subsidy programs mandated by the farm bills are the subject of intense debate both within the U.S. and internationally.

The current farm bill, known as the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, replaces the last farm bill which expired in September 2007.

Non-farm bill agriculture legislation

• Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916
• Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933
• Frazier–Lemke Farm Bankruptcy Act of 1934
• Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1937
• Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938
• Agricultural Act of 1948
• Agricultural Act of 1949
• Agricultural Act of 1954
• Agricultural Act of 1956
• Farm Credit Act of 1971

Farm bills

According to the Congressional Research Service, nine bills between 1965 and 2002 are "generally agreed" to be farm bills; the 2008 farm bill is the tenth.

1. Food and Agricultural Act of 1965
2. Agricultural Act of 1970
3. Agricultural and Consumer Protection Act of 1973
4. Food and Agriculture Act of 1977
5. Agriculture and Food Act of 1981
6. Food Security Act of 1985
7. Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990
8. Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996
9. Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002
10. Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
    

The latest 2008 Farm bill, known as the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, increased spending to $288Bn therefore causing controversy at the time by increasing the budget deficit. It increased subsidies for biofuels which the World Bank has named as one of three most important contributors, along with high fuel prices and price speculation, to the 2007–2008 world food price crisis. On January 1, 2013, Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 to avert the fiscal cliff and the next day President Barack Obama signed the Act into law. (Public Law No: 112-240) The "fiscal cliff" deal was primarily enacted to avoid automatic tax hikes and spending cuts, but also included provisions extending portions of the 2008 Farm Bill known as Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 for nine months through September 30, 2013. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has demonstrated a commitment to working on a new five-year Farm Bill by reintroducing last session's Senate Farm Bill in the new 113th Congress.

External links

• U.S. Farm Bill 2007 Ag Observatory (Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy)
• Farm Policy Facts
• American Farmland Trust
• USDA Bets the Farm on Animal ID Program
• Farm Bill Budget Visualizer from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future