As 2024 passes its halfway point, the hopes of early passage of a farm bill have passed by, as well. But movement on both sides of the aisle has recently taken place, initially offering a glimmer of hope that a final bill would make it across the 2024 finish line.

House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson (PA-15) released the "The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024,” while U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) unveiled the framework for the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act. Both versions were released in May.

Since then, there has been active movement from House and Senate Republicans while a markup from Democrats has yet to come.

The House Ag Committee markup came on May 23 with bipartisan support and passage out of the committee. On June 11, U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, unveiled the Senate Republican-drafted framework for the bill calling it a “farmer-focused farm bill.”

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented on Boozman’s release of a farm bill outline.

“Farm Bureau appreciates Senator Boozman’s release of an outline for a new, modernized farm bill that increases investments in the farm safety net and advances voluntary conservation efforts,” he said. “His plan, combined with Senator Stabenow’s previously released outline, brings into better focus each party’s vision for this important legislation.”

However, Duvall added that while this is encouraging progress in the Senate, there is much work to be done.

“There are stark differences between the two outlines and we urge Chairwoman Stabenow and Ranking Member Boozman to find common ground on the important issues that farmers and ranchers face,” he said.

Kentucky Senator and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell also commented on the Boozman outline saying the Ranking Member’s plan reflects the actual reality of owning and operating a farm today and it addresses the biggest bone of contention among American producers: Less fluff, and more farm in the Farm Bill. 

“I’ve served on the Agriculture Committee my entire time in the Senate – I know drafting this legislation is never easy,” he said. “And I’m grateful to the Ranking Member for his work on this important issue. I hope that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will look to this framework for guidance as we work to deliver certainty and stability to America’s farmers.”

Kentucky Farm Bureau (KFB) Federation’s Director of National Affairs and Government Relations Ericka King said the hope is for bipartisan support as these bills come out of their respective committees and move forward.

“We certainly want to see bipartisan bills come out of both committees and if we don't, then the farm bill's future is a bit murkier than what we would like it to be,” she said. “You've got to have that bipartisan support, that buy-in from both sides to get it on the floor because there are such slim margins in both the Senate and House of Representatives right now.”

The current farm bill passed in 2018 and expired last September. An extension was passed by Congress in November 2023, something that isn’t unusual for this particular piece of legislation.

“If you look back over, I would say the past 20 years, there have been more extensions to the farm bill than there have been ones passed on time,” King said. “The 2018 version did pass in the same year it expired but that is almost the exception as opposed to the rule.”

• Some of the key takeaways from the Senate Republican framework include:
• Improved crop insurance coverage and affordability
• Increases in reference prices by an average of 15 percent for all covered commodities
• Doubles the funding for MAP (Market Access Program) and FMD (Foreign Market Development)
• Makes investments in small business development, broadband, and energy and water infrastructure
• Doubles farm bill research funding
• Makes additional investments in existing conservation programs
• Ensures SNAP beneficiaries will not have benefits cut

Would help in the farm transition process by making crop insurance more affordable for beginning farmers and allowing farmers without base acres a chance to participate in safety net programs.

“We know more week by week, but things are changing quickly,” she said. “However, the biggest area of some common ground between House Republicans and Senate Democrats is trying to strengthen the nutrition title and some mutual agreement within the commodity title as far as trying to help those support programs. But both sides just have very differing views of how to help those programs.”

Another similarity, at least on the surface, is the use of some of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 dollars.

“Based on what I've read from the section-by-section of the Senate bill released by Chairwoman Stabenow, some of that Inflation Reduction Act money would go to permanent programs, which means in the long-term, more money would have to be allocated in addition to typical standard farm bill conservation programs,” King said. “The House plan differs from that. It looks at those unexpended IRA dollars and puts it to use to help pay for the current pending farm bill, taking care of the conservation programs within that."

One of the most important parts of any farm bill has to do with safety net programs such as crop insurance. The two versions of the bill take different standpoints on what is necessary for these programs.

“In the House bill, they are making different expansions to crop insurance that would increase security within the program and allow for more coverage for beginning and veteran farmers,” King said. “We don’t yet see quite as much of that in  Chairwoman Stabenow’s Senate version with money being moved around without a lot of additional opportunities for what we see as necessary within crop insurance and commodities protection.”

Another key topic for the agriculture industry related to this farm bill is international trade. According to specific language contained in the House Bill summary, “By expanding the reach and impact of the MAP and FMD program, the 2024 farm bill will mitigate global food insecurity while providing U.S. producers new markets, improving local economies.”

King said this bill, as well as the framework released by Ranking Member Boozman, expand opportunities within the trade title of the farm bill.

“That's something that is definitely needed given this past year being the first year in probably five decades, that the US has been a net importer of agricultural goods,” she said. “We hear it from our members all the time that we need more trade opportunities. And that's one thing that's addressed in the House bill and Senate Republican’s framework.”

King added that there could well be a path forward for a 2024 farm bill coming to fruition but it will take extensive work on both sides in both chambers to make it happen. However, as an August Congressional recess approaches, along with a stretch run for the upcoming presidential race after that, a second extension could not be ruled out.