 |
 |
 |
2013 Farm BillThe farm bill is an extensive, omnibus piece of legislation that is reauthorized roughly every five years. ‘Farm bill’ is really a misnomer, because although the legislation does contain a number of provisions that are critical to family farmers’, ranchers’, and fruit and vegetable growers’ economic success, more than 75 percent of the bill’s funding is allocated for nutrition assistance for the underprivileged, both in the United States and abroad. Much of the remaining provisions relate to rural business development, incentives for renewable energy production, and protection of our country’s most precious natural resources. So, above all, the farm bill is really a food, energy and jobs bill, and all consumers, farmers and rural Americans have a responsibility to be engaged in the farm bill debate. The 2008 Farm Bill (the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008) expired on Sept. 30, 2012. Despite the tremendous bipartisan, multi-sector effort behind the legislation, the $23 to 35 billion in savings it would have contributed to deficit reduction, as well as near unanimous support from the entire agriculture community, Congress did not see the bill through but instead passed a one-year extension that expires in September 2013. Now farmers, ranchers, and the lender that provide them credit are at Congress’s mercy, struggling to make business decisions in this uncertain policy environment. See below for additional farm bill resources. NFU Summaries: House Agriculture Commitee Farm Bill Draft (May 10, 2013) Target Prices (May 16, 2013) Senate/House Farm Bill Side by Side Comparison (May 16, 2013) * Summaries do not reflect any changes made during the committee markupSenate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry’s 2013 Farm Bill page Committee summary of Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013 (May 9, 2013) House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture’s 2013 Farm Bill page Committee summary of Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (May 10, 2013) NFU farm bill resources:NFU 2013 Farm Bill policy News releases May 15, 2013 House Ag Committee Concludes Markup, NFU Encouraged by 2013 Farm Bill Momentum Letters Letter to President Obama Asking to Include Farm Bill in Fiscal Cliff Bill (Dec. 13, 2012) Testimony May 18, 2012: House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry – Energy and forestry programs
Blog posts May 10, 2013 Senate Agriculture Committee releases draft farm bill Additional farm bill resources:
Congressional Research Service reports June 1, 2012: Budget Issues Shaping a 2012 Farm Bill May 30, 2012: The Senate Agriculture Committee’s 2012 Farm Bill (S. 3240): A Side-by-Side Comparison with Current Law March 30, 2012: Expiring Farm Bill Programs Without a Budget Baseline March 26, 2012: Possible Extension or Expiration of the 2008 Farm Bill Feb. 15, 2012: Previewing the Next Farm Bill
U.S. Department of Agriculture resources Side-by-side of 2002/2008 Farm Bills |
Upcoming Events 
2014 NFU Convention
"Spicing Up Family Agriculture"
March 8-11, 2014
Santa Fe, N.M.
Click here for details
Follow Us
