Failure to Modernize Farm Bill Has Measurable Consequences

The very real and damaging consequences of Congress’ failure to pass a modernized farm bill are brought to light in a new analysis by American Farm Bureau Federation economists. It provides a clearer picture of major impacts of relying on the antiquated 2018 farm bill, including the likely loss of more family farms in the U.S., all of which impact the country’s ability to produce the food, fuel and fiber America’s families rely on.

The Market Intel highlights five specific impacts of the failure to pass a new farm bill: a weakened farmer safety net, less future funding for sustainability efforts, a gap in coverage for dairy farmers, further erosion of U.S. leadership in public agricultural research as China takes the lead, and reduced overall economic and national security.

AFBF President Zippy Duvall said, “If Congress fails to pass a new and improved farm bill, they will be responsible for leaving farmers in a lurch at a time when we’ve lost more than 140,000 family farms in just five years. When the current farm bill was drafted in 2018, the agricultural landscape was drastically different. Policy that pre-dates a global pandemic, historic inflation, skyrocketing supply costs and geopolitical uncertainty just won’t cut it today or next year. Congress must not put farmers, ranchers and America’s families on the back burner. The House Agriculture Committee has done its part so far. It's now time for the Senate Agriculture Committee to move this process forward.”

Reference prices, the point at which federal programs compensate farmers when markets bottom out, need to be modernized. The Market Intel states that while a few commodities’ reference prices have increased due to a price escalator added in the 2018 law, all lag significantly behind increases in cost-of-production.

Once a global leader, America has fallen far behind China in publicly funded agricultural research. China spends more than $10 billion a year on agricultural research, double the spending in the U.S. In fact, China's research investments nearly match the combined investments by the U.S., India and Brazil. "Supporting the productivity of U.S. agriculture is critical to our competitiveness in the larger world market; it is fundamental to building our capacity to contribute to environmental sustainability; and it is absolutely necessary to supporting the health and nutrition of the world’s population."

The current farm bill extension will expire in September. The nearly seven-year-old law never anticipated a global pandemic, global unrest, record-high inflation and supply chain issues. The people who rely on crucial farm bill programs recognize the need for action now. Five hundred and thirty organizations, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, this week sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to come together and pass a bipartisan farm bill.

Read the letter here.

Read the Market Intel here.