Expiration of the 2014 Farm Bill: Some Potential Implications (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Sept. 28, 2018 |
| Report Number |
IF10989 |
| Report Type |
In Focus |
| Authors |
Jim Monke |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The farm bill is an omnibus, multi-year law that governs an
array of agricultural and food programs. It provides an
opportunity for policymakers to periodically address a
broad range of agricultural and food issues. The farm bill
has typically undergone reauthorization about every five
years.
In the past, farm bills have focused primarily on farm
commodity program support for a handful of staple
commodities—corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, dairy,
and sugar. Farm bills have become increasingly expansive
in their topical scope since 1973, when a nutrition title was
included. Other prominent additions include conservation,
horticulture, and bioenergy programs.
The 115th Congress could establish the future direction of
farm and food policy, because many of the provisions in the
current farm bill (the Agricultural Act of 2014, P.L. 113-79)
expire in 2018.
Recent farm bills have been subject to various
developments, such as insufficient votes to pass the House
floor, presidential vetoes, or—as in the case of 2008 and
2014—short-term extensions. The 2002 farm bill was the
most recent to be enacted before the fiscal year expiration
date for some programs.
