DTN Ag Policy Blog

The clock is ticking in the behind-the-scenes talks to extend the 2018 farm bill programs and providing some economic aid to farmers.

Congress needs to pass a bill to fund the federal government by Friday, Dec. 20. It's expected that the farm bill extension and disaster-aid package will be rolled into that bill. The official deadline to extend the 2018 farm bill is Dec. 31. Without that extension, permanent law goes into effect, which would throw commodity markets and food prices into a mess.

Politico reported on Monday that retiring Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member David Scott, D-Ga., pitched a proposal that would offer $5.31 billion for farmers suffering from economic challenges not necessarily tied to a natural disaster. That is apparently too low for Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member John Boozman, R-Ark., who will chair the committee in the next Congress. Boozman has called for "tens of billions" in aid, Politico noted.

The $5.3 billion would be on top of the $23 billion or so proposed for USDA under the $98 billion disaster package pitched last month by President Joe Biden.

USDA's net farm income report last week showed crop producers nationally have seen cash receipts fall $25 billion this year.

The $5.3 billion sticks out because it's also roughly the sum that farmers used to receive yearly under the old Direct Payments program that went away in the 2014 farm bill.

Politico also reported that part of the Democratic pitch in this plan is that the farm-bill extension would include the $14 billion or so remaining from the Inflation Reduction Act's climate-smart conservation funding. That money would roll into the farm bill's baseline, but it would keep the language ensuring those dollars go to practices that reduce greenhouse gases or sequester carbon in the soil. Republicans have been focused on stripping those climate guardrails from the IRA dollars.

Another $1 billion would be added to boost crop insurance and $950 million to support specialty crop producers with disaster funds as well, Politico reported.

The proposal also would fund a lot of the smaller "orphan" programs at USDA that would run out of funding without specific reauthorization. Stabenow also wants $15 million per year in mandatory funding for USDA's Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production.

Republicans will need to counter to reach a deal. Democratic votes will be needed in both chambers. The Republican-led House has a narrow majority and a bloc of Republicans under the Freedom Caucus last week declared they would not support the disaster package proposed by the president.

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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