Farm Bill
Every five or six years, the U.S. Congress revises our nation's farm policy, better known as the Farm Bill. That process is underway for 2007. The 2002 Farm Bill (officially titled the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002) was divided into 10 different titles: Commodities, Conservation, Trade, Nutrition, Credit, Rural Development, Research, Forestry, Energy, and Miscellaneous. There is good reason to expect the new farm bill to be an evolutionary version of the 2002 Farm Bill.
As the debate on the new farm legislation progresses, this site provides information and links to the farm bill alternatives and to other educational and research information.
Current Farm Bill Proposals
- Comparison of the House and Senate 2007 Farm Bills. CRS Report for Congress. Renée Johnson, Geoffrey S. Becker, Ralph M. Chite, Tadlock Cowan, Ross W. Gorte, Charles E. Hanrahan, Remy Jurenas, Jim Monke, Jean M. Rawson, Randy Schnepf, Jasper Womach, Jeffrey A. Zin, and Joe Richardson. Updated December 5. 2007.
- "This report compares the major provisions in the House-passed and the Senate-reported versions of the 2007 farm bill with each other and with current law."
- Summary of H.R. 2419 (2007 House Farm Bill). Will Snell and Craig Infanger. August 2007.
- The U.S. House of Representatives passed their version of the 2007 Farm Bill (H.R. 2419) on July 27th, 2007 by a 231 to 191 vote. The U.S. Senate is expected to debate the farm bill when they return following the August recess with more attention likely on payment limitations and conservation programs. The 2002 Farm Bill will expire on September 30, 2007. This is a brief summary of the 11 titles contained in the House's Farm Bill. http://www.uky.edu/Ag/AgEcon/farmbill/pubs/hr2419Aug07.html".
- National Farmers Union: Farm Bill.
- "NFU encourages Congress to adopt farm programs that return profitability and economic opportunity to production agriculture and rural communities." http://www.nfu.org/issues/agriculture-programs/farm-bill/.
- Farm Bureau's Recommendations for the 2007 Farm Bill. April 24, 2007.
- "As a general farm organization, the overriding goal of Farm Bureau's proposal is to maintain balance and benefit all of the farm sectors, while remaining within the budget constraints Congress must use to draft the new law. http://www.fb.org/newsroom/farmbill2007/AFBF2007FBProposal.pdf.
- Farm Bill Update. Will Snell and Craig Infanger. April 17, 2007.
- Debate over the 2007 Farm Bill continues among lawmakers, farm organizations, and other interested parties amidst the looming expiration of the 2002 Farm Bill on September 30, 2007. Two of the major driving forces of the debate are the current status of the farm economy and the budget situation. http://www.uky.edu/Ag/AgEcon/farmbill/pubs/update041707.html.
- The Secretary of Agriculture has released a set of farm bill proposals designed to address major issues with the new farm bill. You can view these proposals at:
- http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1UH?navid=FARM_BILL_FORUMS&navtype=SU
- The National Corn Growers Association has offered a comprehensive program to revise the commodity program provisions (Title I) in the current farm bill. You can see their proposal at:
- http://www.ncga.com/news/presentations/PDF/031407NCGAFarmBillPresentationFarmFoundationMeeting.pdf
- The American Farmland Trust has offered their version of new farm legislation which emphasizes conservation and land use policies. You can find that proposal at:
- http://www.farmland.org/programs/campaign/newpolicyrecommendations.asp
Background
- Farm and Commodity Policy. USDA/Economic Research Service. April 4, 2007 (updated).
- USDA Releases 2007 Farm Bill Proposals.
Will Snell and Craig Infanger. February 2007.
- The USDA proposals attempt to take into consideration some of the major issues that have been driving the farm bill debate over the past 12 months including, budget limitations, WTO concerns, increased emphasis on conservation payments and energy, expanding farm bill benefits to specialty crops, and establishing effective caps on individual farm bill payments. http://www.uky.edu/Ag/AgEcon/farmbill/pubs/usdaproposals0207.html.
- Political and Economic Issues Affecting the 2007 Farm Bill Debate. Will Snell. July 2006.
- Preliminary Issues Affecting the 2007 Farm Bill: Implications for Kentucky. Will Snell. October 2005.
For More Information
For up-to-date information about the progress of the 2008 Farm Bill, access the websites listed under Additional Resources
For specific information about the 2008 Farm Bill policies, please contact one of our Farm Bill Contacts.