Blog By: Sarah Shepherd

On September 30, 2024, the farm bill expired after months of prolonged silence from Congress, leaving farmers uncertain and Americans prone to suffer the consequences of their representatives’ failure to act.[i] Instead of tackling the problem and writing a new, proactive farm bill, Congress once again passed an extension of the previous farm bill on December 21, 2024.[ii]

The farm bill is a multiyear law meant to be passed once every five years.[iii] The expansive package of omnibus legislation contains twelve titles that cover programs ranging from crop insurance for farmers to nutrition assistance for low-income families.[iv] With the threat of another expiration looming over D.C. and rural America, representatives must work together to pass a bipartisan farm bill that protects farmers and low-income families.

The current farm bill (the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018) was signed into law by President Trump in 2018.[v] The 2018 farm bill first expired on September 30, 2023, but a one-year extension was passed for programs to continue through September 30, 2024.[vi] When the farm bill expired once again on September 30, 2024, Congress waited nearly three months to pass another extension, allowing certain provisions of the farm bill to continue through September 2025 and others through December 2025.[vii]

While Congress is encouraged to pass a new farm bill every five years, one-year extensions of previous farm bills are not uncommon.[viii] Both the 2002 and 2008 farm bills were extended until the 2008 and 2014 farm bills could be enacted.[ix] Passing a new farm bill can be difficult due to “insufficient votes to pass the House floor” and “presidential vetoes.”[x] These delays often result in a previous farm bill expiring before a new one is implemented, requiring short-term extensions of the previous farm bill to support farmers until new legislation can be passed.[xi]

Unfortunately, lawmakers have been unable to agree on a new farm bill for the last few years.[xii] In May of 2024, Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee proposed a $1.5 trillion farm bill that, while including bipartisan safety net provisions for farmers, would limit spending on nutrition and climate change programs.[xiii] Under the proposed bill, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”), America’s most important anti-hunger program, would receive a $30 billion cut, leaving 40 million people with decreased benefits.[xiv] These proposed changes were not supported by enough Democrats to pass in the House, preventing a new farm bill from being enacted and requiring another extension.[xv]

With Republicans holding a trifecta over both chambers of Congress and the presidency in 2025, attacks on SNAP and conservation programs are likely to postpone the passing of a new farm bill.[xvi] The SNAP director at the Food Research & Action Center, Salaam Bhatti, argues “no [new] farm bill is better than a bad farm bill,” as a new farm bill would likely include cuts to SNAP instead of improvements.[xvii]

We need a farm bill that supports all Americans and farmers. Forty-one million Americans rely on SNAP benefits to put food on the table.[xviii] Additionally, every state in the U.S. benefits from conservation programs in the farm bill that “help spur healthier soils, cleaner water, carbon sequestration and wildlife habitat conservation.”[xix] If a farm bill that preserves SNAP and conservation efforts cannot be passed before the farm bill expires in September 2025, Congress should extend the 2018 farm bill again to ensure essential agricultural, nutrition, and conservation programs are authorized to operate and receive funding. The programs authorized and funded by the farm bill are far too important to let partisanship hinder their ability to support farmers and families. Congress must act now to propose a bipartisan farm bill or be ready to extend the current one come September.

[i] Allison Winter, Delayed Farm Bill Punted Until After Election with Congress Stuck on How to Pay for It, Wash. State Standard (Oct. 2, 2024, 6:48 PM), https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/10/02/delayed-farm-bill-punted-until-after-election-with-congress-stuck-on-how-to-pay-for-it/#:~:text=The%20previous%20farm%20bill%20from,for%20fertilizer%20and%20other%20inputs. [https://perma.cc/96Q6-JVNE].

[ii] Jim Monke et al., Cong. Rsch. Serv., R47659, Expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill and Extension for 2025 1 (2024).

[iii] What is the Farm Bill?, Nat’l Sustainable Agric. Coal., https://sustainableagriculture.net/our-work/campaigns/fbcampaign/what-is-the-farm-bill/ (last visited Oct. 6, 2024) [https://perma.cc/XVV8-L4C4].

[iv] Id.

[v] Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, Pub L. No. 115-334, 132 Stat. 4490.

[vi] Farm Bill Home, USDA Farm Serv. Agency, https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/farm-bill/index (last visited Oct. 6, 2024) [https://perma.cc/QTU2-LU4M].

[vii] R47659.

[viii] Id.

[ix] Id.

[x] Id.

[xi] Id.

[xii] Maya Miller, As Congress Feuds over Farm Bill, Growers are “Stuck in Limbo,” NY. Times (Nov. 27, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/27/us/politics/farm-bill-congress.html [https://perma.cc/G8JV-DUPU].

[xiii] Ximena Bustillo & Ayesha Rascoe, Congress will Restart Negotiations to Update a Farm Bill that Impacts SNAP, NPR (Sept. 8, 2024, 8:00 AM), https://www.npr.org/2024/09/08/nx-s1-5103661/congress-will-restart-negotiations-to-update-a-farm-bill-that-impacts-snap [https://perma.cc/W655-9CM9].

[xiv] Katie Bergh et al., House Committee Farm Bill’s $30 Billion SNAP Cut, Other Harmful Proposals Outweigh Improvements, Ctr. on Budget and Pol’y Priorities (Aug. 8, 2024), https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/house-committee-farm-bills-30-billion-snap-cut-other-harmful-proposals [https://perma.cc/NVD3-DTU9].

[xv] Bustillo & Rascoe, supra note xiii.

[xvi] Lisa Held, Will Congress Pass a New Farm Bill in 2025?, Civil Eats (Jan. 8, 2025), https://civileats.com/2025/01/08/will-congress-pass-a-new-farm-bill-in-2025/ [https://perma.cc/MAG2-XJ23].

[xvii] Id.

[xviii] Catlin Nchako, A Closer Look at Who Benefits from SNAP: State-by-State Fact Sheets, Ctr. on Budget and Pol’y Priorities (Jan. 21, 2025), https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/a-closer-look-at-who-benefits-from-snap-state-by-state-fact-sheets#Alabama [https://perma.cc/M5HB-5FGR].

[xix] What You Need to Know about the Farm Bill, The Nature Conservancy (Aug. 22, 2024), https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-priorities/provide-food-and-water-sustainably/food-and-water-stories/supporting-the-farm-bill/ [https://perma.cc/8PGL-9CT8].