By Andi Anderson
As Congress approaches a September 30 deadline, the debate over renewing the U.S. farm bill is far more complicated than meeting a date on the calendar. While the farm bill is typically renewed every five years, delays have become common, and this time the challenge runs deeper than punctuality.
The farm bill funds a wide range of programs, including agricultural subsidies, conservation efforts, and nutrition assistance. Yet only a fraction directly supports farming. “People call it the ‘farm bill,’ but almost none of it has anything to do with a farm,” said Daniel Sumner, economist at the University of California, Davis.
In fact, nearly 80% of the 2018 Farm Bill financed nutrition programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and school lunches.
Historically, the farm bill brought together two powerful groups—commodity farmers in rural areas and low-income families in urban centers—fostering bipartisan cooperation.
But this year, key funding decisions for crop insurance, commodity price supports, and proposed SNAP cuts were already included in a broader GOP policy bill passed earlier in the summer. “That has really changed the dynamics of farm bill debate going forward,” explained Claire Kelloway of the Open Markets Institute.
Because those central issues have been addressed, lawmakers face less pressure to pass a comprehensive renewal. The shift also weakens the tradition of bipartisan negotiation. “For a long time, the farm bill kind of forced a more bipartisan process but it looks like it’s becoming more like every other policy issue,” Kelloway added.
Jonathan Coppess, an agriculture policy professor at the University of Illinois, warned that the cooperative spirit that enabled previous farm bills may take years to rebuild.
Without the incentive of shared interests, Congress may allow many smaller but important provisions to lapse, signaling a new era where agriculture and nutrition policy faces the same political gridlock as other major legislation.
Categories: Illinois, Government & Policy