National Farmers Union update on the 2013 Farm Bill
The 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:
Senate‐Passed Farm Bill (June 12, 2013)
Senate Agriculture Committee Farm Bill Draft (May 13, 2013)
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 markup
Senate 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)
Legislative text 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)
Legislative text of Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (May 10, 2013)
NFU farm bill resources:
News releases
June 12, 2013 NFU Applauds Speaker Boehner’s Support of the Farm Bill
June 5, 2013 NFU Calls on Senate to Advance Farm Bill; NFU Hopeful in Final Stretch
May 20, 2013 NFU Highlights Priorities for Senate Amendments on 2013 Farm Bill
May 15, 2013 House Ag Committee Concludes Markup, NFU Encouraged by 2013 Farm Bill Momentum
May 14, 2013 NFU Outlines Farm Bill Priorities for House Committee on Agriculture
May 14, 2013 NFU Congratulates Senate Ag Committee on Completing Farm Bill Markup
May 13, 2013 NFU Outlines Farm Bill Priorities for Senate
Letters
Letter to President Obama Asking to Include Farm Bill in Fiscal Cliff Bill (Dec. 13, 2012)
Letter to House Leadership to Pass Farm Bill in Lame Duck (Nov. 14, 2012)
Letter to House to Schedule Farm Bill Vote (Sept. 13, 2012)
Testimony
May 18, 2012: House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry –Energy and forestry programs
May 17, 2012: House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management – Commodity programs and crop insurance
Blog posts
May 23, 2013 Senate wraps up farm bill consideration until June
May 20, 2013 Senate begins farm bill debate
May 16, 2013 Recap: Senate and House farm bill markups
May 10, 2013 Senate Agriculture Committee releases draft farm bill
May 10, 2013 House Agriculture Committee releases draft farm bill
May 3, 2013 House Majority Leader’s summer agenda includes the farm bill
May 2, 2013 Senate Democrats host rural summit
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