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 These
areas include crop insurance, nutrition assistance, energy,
livestock, and a wide breadth of other areas. When initially signed,
the majority of the 2018 Farm Bill was set to expire in 2023. Joe
Biden signed an extension of this bill on November 16th, 2023. This
extension lasted until September 30th of 2024. If you look at your
calendars, you’ll notice it is now past September 30th. What happens
now and what is the future of the farm bill going to look like?
The first part of that question is fairly easy to answer: for the
moment, at least, a lot and a little. Some programs covered by the
2018 Farm Bill are going to be affected immediately. According to
the Farm Bureau's website, [https://www.fb.org/market-intel/what-happens-when-a-farm-bill-dies]
areas that could be immediately shut down include many international
programs, several animal health programs, programs for “socially
disadvantaged, veteran, young, and beginning farmers,” The National
Organic Certification Cost-Share Program, and others.
There are other areas, such as
crop insurance, that will not be affected at all. This is due to
some of the 2018 Farm Bill programs being protected by permanent
laws, “meaning a law without a sunset date.” Some nutrition and
disaster programs are also protected under permanent laws.
Over time, especially starting after January 1st, 2025, some of the
programs that were regulated by the 2018 Farm Bill could start to be
covered by permanent law. The issue with this is that the permanent
laws set to cover these programs were signed into law over
seventy-five years ago, in farm bills passed in the 1930’s and 40’s.
One of the first areas that would be impacted would be the dairy
industry. To read more on that and what it could do to dairy prices,
please see the above Farm Bureau link and scroll down to the section
titled “The Farm Bill’s Dairy Cliff: Milk and Honey.”
What about the future of the farm bill? Well, that’s a trickier
question to answer considering the national election coming up in
less than a month. What we know for sure is Joe Biden will not be
the president. That being the case, it is possible Congress could
set another extension of the 2018 Farm Bill. This would likely be
because, while the new president is going to be elected in November,
they do not take office until January 20th, after permanent law
starts to affect some of the farming industries. According to the
Farm Bureau, however, this would not be a good idea. “[The Farm
Bill’s] time has come… thanks to unanticipated price inflation.”
Since the 2018 Farm Bill sets fixed “reference prices,” thanks to
inflation, they are not worth the same amount they were in 2018.
Considering that no one knows
what the outcome of this next election will be, we cannot be certain
what will happen considering one of two vastly different candidates
will be the one calling the shots. Luckily, the Farm Bureau sends
out a questionnaire to presidential candidates, asking them
questions about key issues relating to the farming industry. They
did this with Harris and Trump and published their responses.
The first major question Farm
Bureau asked the candidates about was investments or policies they
support that would “ensure the resiliency of our food system and the
American farmers who make it work.” Starting with Harris, the letter
sent back stated that they were looking to create a better economic
system for farmers with more opportunities. The letter went on to
elaborate on one of these areas, stating that Harris will try to cut
down on big farm mergers, creating more opportunities for all
farmers and ranchers. Trump, on the other hand, while also focusing
on the economic side of things, addressed energy. “I commit to
lowering your energy bills by half in the first year,” Trump wrote.
He also promised to undo many of the economic policies put in place
by President Joe Biden that were hurting farmers.
[to top of second column] |
Another major question asked
was about labor shortages in the agricultural market. The Farm
Bureau asked about the shortage in labor, as well as undocumented
immigrants who work on many farms across the United States. Harris’s
answer was centered around the H-2A visa program, as well as much of
the work that she and Biden have already done. “This means,” reads
Harris’s letter, “improving our legal immigration system to function
better for our economy, farmers, and workers, and reform that
includes both strong border security and an earned path to
citizenship.” Trump’s answer, while shorter, also addressed the
importance of immigrants to farm labor. “I will prioritize
merit-based immigration,” said Trump, “ensuring those admitted to
our country contribute to our economy and strengthen our country.”
A third important area the Farm Bureau asked the candidates about
was climate and climate reform. “How would you ensure that climate
regulations do not hamper American productivity and
competitiveness?” they asked. Harris’s answer centered around the
Inflation Reduction Act. The act “included a $20 billion investment
to help the agricultural community adopt and expand conservation
strategies through climate-smart agriculture,” Harris’s letter said.
Trump’s answer mainly focused on undoing things that Biden has done
during his presidency. “I pledge to terminate the Green New Deal,”
Trump said, while also promising to dismantle the “‘net zero’ policy
of high cost energy that is a millstone around the future of the
American economy.” Trump went on to state that he is committed to
making sure America has the cleanest water and air.
While questions regarding many
other issues were asked, there are too many to review here. If you
would like to read any of the candidate’s above answers in more
detail, or see their answers to the other questions that were asked,
you can find the Farm Bureau’s publication on the matter visit
https://www.fb.org/presidential
-candidate-questionnaire
While it is impossible to know what is going to happen with the 2018
Farm Bill, it is important to have all the information you can find
on it. Even if you are not a farmer or rancher, the effects of
having let the farm bill expire are likely to be felt by anyone who
purchases any American made food in the grocery store, which is a
lot of it. Make sure you have all your information before you go to
make your voice heard in November.
Sources:
1.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/2
2.
https://www.farmers.gov/working-with-us/farm-bill
3.
https://www.fb.org/market-intel/what-happens-when-a-farm-bill-dies
4.
https://www.fb.org/presidential-candidate-questionnaire
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