The consequences of Congress' failure to pass a modernized farm bill are highlighted in a new analysis by American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) economists. The analysis outlines the major impacts of relying on the outdated 2018 farm bill, including the potential loss of more family farms in the U.S., which affects the nation's ability to produce essential food, fuel, and fiber.
The Market Intel report identifies five specific impacts of not passing a new farm bill: a weakened farmer safety net, reduced future funding for sustainability efforts, gaps in coverage for dairy farmers, further erosion of U.S. leadership in public agricultural research as China takes the lead, and diminished overall economic and national security.
AFBF President Zippy Duvall stated, “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 modernization. According to Market Intel, while some commodities’ reference prices have increased due to an escalator added in the 2018 law, all lag significantly behind increases in cost-of-production.
Once a global leader, America has fallen behind China in publicly funded agricultural research. China spends over $10 billion annually on agricultural research—double that of U.S. spending—and nearly matches 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 did not anticipate challenges such as a global pandemic, global unrest, record-high inflation, and supply chain issues. Recognizing this urgency, 530 organizations—including AFBF—sent a letter this week urging Congress to pass a bipartisan farm bill.
Read the letter here.
Read the Market Intel here.
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