Congress Struggles to Pass New Farm Bill Amid Partisan Dysfunction

Failure to renew could lead to economic disaster, while imbalance in funding between commodity crops and conservation practices persists.

Congress has yet to pass a new farm bill, reflecting partisan dysfunction and a contentious debate about the bill's mandate, which has expanded beyond growing food and feeding hungry people to include racial equity, food sovereignty, protections for workers, and meaningful action on climate change.
The farm bill was once an example of bipartisan legislation, but hyperpartisan combat in Washington has made it increasingly difficult to reach a compromise on the bill.
If the farm bill is allowed to expire without another extension or new bill, its commodity programs will revert back to “permanent law”—standards set by the farm bills in 1938 and 1949, creating an economic disaster.
Delays in updating the farm bill have financial consequences for farmers, as it costs more to farm than it did when the last farm bill was passed in 2018.
The Department of Agriculture offers farmers cash to adopt conservation practices meant to counter the troublesome impacts of farming, but the amount of federal money going toward promoting commodity crops far outweighs the amount for conservation.