With farm bill negotiations at a standstill, congressional leaders announced that an extension of the current legislation will be necessary before the year ends. Lawmakers are now debating what the extension should look like and how much economic aid it should offer farmers.
Two critical deadlines are coming in the next two weeks. Farm bill safety net programs will begin to expire and revert back to Depression-era law on Dec. 31, upending food markets and raising consumer prices. At the same time, lawmakers face a Dec. 20 deadline to keep the government funded and avoid a partial shutdown.
Republicans and Democrats both hope to include a farm bill extension within the upcoming government funding bill. The two sides also want billions of dollars in economic aid for farmers, but disagree on how to pay for it.
Here's a breakdown of the talks:
Should disaster or conservation funds being used for farm aid?
Democrats are proposing to shift conservation funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to allow for $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers. The IRA allocated close to an additional $20 billion over five years for farmers to adopt climate-friendly production practices, though divisions over the conservation funds have been one of the major holdups in farm bill negotiations.
Trump has vowed to repeal unspent IRA funds when he takes office next year. Republicans, resistant to using those funds to pay for economic aid, are instead proposing to use some of the $100 billion in emergency disaster aid requested by the Biden administration in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Agriculture leaders on both sides of the political aisle were quick to trade barbs, accusing the other party of rejecting much-needed economic assistance for farmers that faced deteriorating economic conditions without an updated safety net.
“Republican Leadership turned down this $10 Billion proposal, rejecting needed economic assistance and increased conservation spending for decades," Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Rep. David Scott, leading Democratic negotiators for the farm bill, said in a joint statement. "It is important to stress that this proposal is paid for and does not take any funding away from the critical natural disaster aid that has been requested."
Republican negotiators, meanwhile, said Democratic leaders in the House and Senate are "failing to provide our farmers with the economic assistance they need."
House Republicans are expected to release final text for a government funding bill on Tuesday in hopes of a vote before the end of the week. House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a press conference that the aid package would total $12 billion, with $2 billion coming from a USDA investment for specialty crop growers announced in November.
"We think we're giving [farmers] a big boost of relief at exactly the right time, in the nick of time, frankly," Johnson said.
No extension without economic aid, farm groups say
The American Farm Bureau Federation and other powerful agricultural groups are pushing lawmakers to vote down the extension unless it includes economic aid.
Farm groups worry that another extension of the 2018 farm bill would leave farmers with outdated legislation that was written prior to the pandemic and doesn't address the changing needs of producers. Tumbling crop prices, rising expenses and a decline in government aid have all contributed to a downturn in the farm economy.
“At a time when farm income is in a downward spiral and costs are rising, it’s unacceptable for Congress to turn its back on farmers," AFBF President Zippy Duvall said in a statement. "Farmers don’t get to set the prices for their goods and right now those prices don’t even come close to covering their costs."
Financial assistance is vital to ensuring farm operations can stay cash positive and acquire loans to weather the economic downturn. Banks are more hesitant to lend to farms as demand for loans skyrockets to a 11-year high, with many tightening policies.
“Legislation to provide financial assistance to producers, many of whom have had consecutive years of production losses due to low commodity prices, is necessary to enable producers to show positive cashflows in their operations as they seek bank loans for the year ahead," Rebeca Romero Rainey, president and CEO of the Independent Community Bankers of America, said in a statement.
