Abstract
EVERY FARM BILL GOES THROUGH TWO DISTINCT PHASESFirst comes the authorization of the bill itself—technically the reauthorization of the existing bill dating back to the 1930s, along with the introduction of any new programs. The Senate and House Agriculture Committees negotiate a balance among the many competing interests served by the Farm Bill and determine how taxpayer funding should be allocated. The result is essentially a set of promises made by Congress about the direction of US farming and food policy.1
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Notes
- 1.
According to one long-time Farm Bill observer, about one-third of the members of the Agriculture Committees are new representatives and senators who have been assigned to the task and are eager to be released from these committees as soon as possible.
- 2.
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, “Farm, Food, and Conservation Communities Urge Congress to Respect Farm Bill Process,” February 22, 2017, http://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/groups-oppose-reopening-farmbill/.
- 3.
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, “Agriculture Appropriations Chart Fiscal Year 2015,” http://sustainableagriculture.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/NSAC-FY-2015-Ag-Appropriations-Chart-Legal-Size-w-PBR1.pdf. Ironically, slashing EQIP funding hurts relatively environmentally friendly operations more than the worst offenders. See “Paying the Polluters” in chapter 8.
- 4.
Jonathan Copess, Gary Schnitkey, and Nick Paulson, “Sequestration and Farm Program Payments,” FarmDoc Daily 5 (September 2015): 167, http://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2015/09/sequestration-and-farm-program-payments.html.
- 5.
Tiffany Stecker, “Appropriations: House Agriculture Bill Guts Farm Bill Energy Programs—Advocates,” E&E News, June 19, 2015, https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/stories/1060020525?t=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eenews.net%2Fspecial_reports%2Fbudget_2016%2Fstories%2F1060020525.
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© 2019 Daniel Imhoff
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Imhoff, D., Badaracco, C. (2019). How Does the Farm Bill Work?. In: The Farm Bill. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-975-3_4
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