Congress missed a very important deadline...

The Farm Bill touches each and every one of us.

Hello my friends, 

Well, it’s official. After three weeks of chaos in Congress, we officially have a new Speaker of the House. Now, finally, all of our problems are solved and we will get back to a normal situation…I wish!

As Congress gets back to their offices, there is now a huge amount of work that hasn’t been done. To me, the most important thing that they need to focus on is is a piece of legislation that we should all be thinking about: the farm bill.

Every five years, a group of laws is discussed, debated, voted on, and at the end of the day, passed. This package, which basically contains every law that affects our country’s agricultural system and food economy, is referred to as the “farm bill.”

The title can make it feel far away from many Americans. Why should people living in cities and suburbs care about policies that impact our farms and our farmers?

My friends, it’s simple: our country’s farmers, and our farms, provide us with the nutrients and nourishment that sustain us. Without their work, we would have no food on our tables to eat. American farmers, including the documented and undocumented workers who work on these farms, literally keep America alive.
At its center, these laws are about farmers. But every single one of us who eat…you know, all of us…feel the impact of this bill. So, maybe calling it the food bill would make more sense, and would do a better job of ensuring Americans understand how important it is.

So what’s included in the farm bill?

Crop insurance, support for dairy farmers, crop subsidies, conservation programs, nutrition programs, investments for rural infrastructure, and so much more policy and programs are included in this bill. If you can think of it, it’s probably in there. But let me tell you the problem: Congress missed their deadline to pass a new bill in time!

The last bill was passed five years ago, in 2018, and we must now pass a bill to bring us through 2028, but there have been issues this year that have made the process difficult. Between the government shutdown that we escaped by hours, and debates over Republican-proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP…also known as food stamps), Republican-led plans to use conservation funding for non-climate related programs, and fights over crop subsidies (to name just a few of the debates!) have led to Congress missing the September 30th deadline to pass the bill in time. 

So what now? Congress has until the end of 2023 to get their act together. If they don’t, here’s what could happen:

Farmers will face uncertainty—and we all might face higher grocery prices.
Farmers rely on money coming in from the bill in order to buy seeds, fertilizer, and more for the next farming season. Without new legislation, they might not know how to plan for next year, which will impact us all…if they decide to grow less food because they don’t have the certainties in the farm bill, we all might see higher prices at the grocery store.

Milk, especially, is at risk of a huge price increase. Dairy farmers rely on subsidies provided in the bill, so we may have to pay more for a gallon of milk in 2024 if Congress doesn’t act.

Food assistance programs will be impacted.
Millions of Americans depend on SNAP. The delay may lead to uncertainty for individuals and families who rely on those benefits for their visits to the grocery store. But this isn’t just a farm bill question…SNAP needs to have a major expansion to better serve the people of America, and shouldn’t be used by members of Congress to hold up the entire process.

We’re going to face major conservation and environmental concerns.
Currently, the American agricultural system has been making great progress on sustainability with programs on climate change, soil erosion, and improving water quality. A delay in the farm bill could will put all that progress on hold.

Rural development will be set back.
The last farm bill included a budget for rural development programs, such as investments in infrastructure and job creation. This delay could hurt rural communities that rely on these programs for growth, economic stability, and job opportunities.

Research might slow down.
Funding for agricultural research and innovation, which is super important for helping America’s farmers continue to improve their practices and meet new challenges, could be affected by the delay.

International trade could be impacted.
The farm bill can influence U.S. agricultural policy in international trade agreements. A delay in the bill's renewal might affect negotiations in global trade discussions, which could hurt the country's agricultural export and import policies.

What do all of these potential layers of impact have in common? They affect you. They affect me. They affect the small farmers we get to know at the farmers market, as well as and the documented and undocumented immigrants working on our farms whose names we’ll never know. Our communities will see their food prices rise even more, and for what? Because of our politics, the American people are supposed to suffer? No, I don’t think that’s right. It’s time to pass the Farm (Food!) Bill, expand SNAP, and protect our nation’s farmers!