Farm Bill will likely be held over to 2025

Sen. Chuck Grassley met with Iowa media and said that there is no chance that an entirely new Farm Bill will be approved before the 118th Congress ends in just a few days.

First reported by Iowa’s 1380 KCIM,  the veteran Iowa Republican said a continuing resolution is the only option for funding Farm Bill programs.

According to Grassley, leaving it to the next Congress to approve a massive new Farm Bill might be positive.

The 2018 Farm Bill, after a one-year extension, was officially over in October. 1, 2024.

Officially known as the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, the 2018 farm bill is the most recent omnibus farm bill. It contained 12 titles. 

It ended a  $900 billion spending bill,  but some of that spending has continued through the end of 2024,

According to the Congressional Reserve Service (CRS), updates in the 2018 Farm Bill modified some farm commodity programs, expanded crop insurance, amended conservation programs, reauthorized and revised nutrition assistance, and extended authority to appropriate funds for many USDS programs.

The CSR reports that four titles accounted for 99 percent of the 2018 farm bill’s mandatory spending: nutrition (primarily SNAP), commodities, crop insurance, and conservation. All other titles in the expired Farm Bill accounted for about 1 percent of mandatory outlays and received discretionary primarily (appropriated) funds.

Seventeen Republican governors have gone on record expressing opposition to a one-year extension in favor of a new Farm Bill, which would let the existing law run out. The new Farm Bill would be left to the new Congress.

 Republican governors wrote to House and Senate leaders on Monday, now calling for a new farm bill rather than in 2025. They said agriculture “serves as the foundation of our economies,” and this crucial industry has faced powerful headwinds beyond its control.

The governors cited inflation, input costs, natural disasters, and the agricultural trade deficit as all impacting producers.

Another short-term extension, known as a Continuing Resolution, avoids a shutdown. Still, the extension shifts most of the significant funding decisions for FY 2025 to the new Congress and President Trump.

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