By Don Shurley, Yangxuan Liu and Adam N. Rabinowitz
The legislative process leading to the next farm bill has now begun. The current 2014 farm bill will end with the 2018 crop year. On April 18, the House Agriculture Committee approved The Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (HR 2). This was the first step in the legislative process that will lead to the next/new farm bill beginning with the 2019 crop year.
House consideration of the bill is expected this week (week of May 14, 2018). The Senate Ag Committee has not yet considered it’s version of the new farm bill. The Senate Ag Committee is expected to consider its version of a new farm bill in late May or possibly sometime in June. The goal remains to have the new farm bill completed this year. Debate in both the House and Senate is expected to be contentious, however, where Democrats are opposed to proposed farm bill revisions in the nutrition title. There is also, as always, likely to be debate on payment limits and payment eligibility.
A factsheet titled House Ag Committee Farm Bill Proposal and Seed Cotton Program FSA Timeline (Click here to download the factsheet) discusses some of the changes in HR 2 compared to the current 2014 farm bill, discusses the remaining farm bill process, and updates to the timeline for the generic base conversion and new seed cotton program.
More information can be found at Georgia Agricultural Policy Webpage.