The farm bill has been extended for another year as part of legislation re-opening the federal government.
Responses from agricultural groups and policy experts have ranged from applause to subdued relief. With three years of extensions rather than a new five-year policy, some are concerned about the future of the farm bill and long-standing USDA programs.
“The most prominent and possibly the most concerning program in this kind of limbo state of annual extensions is the Conservation Reserve Program, the CRP, which has been the backbone of conservation since 1985,” said Jonathan Coppess, associate professor of agricultural policy at the University of Illinois.
CRP provides annual rental fees to farmers who take vulnerable land out of row crop production to reduce soil erosion, improve water quality and provide wildlife habitat. For some, this looks like a meadow of native grasses and wildflowers or a riparian buffer along a stream.
Contracts typically last for 10-15 years, which provides stable funding for farmers during fluctuating crop prices and trade wars, Coppess said.
“CRP is a backbone program because of how it fits within not just conservation, but also agriculture production and economic issues,” he added.
In June, nearly 26 million acres were enrolled in the program, which is capped at 27 million. After the farm bill expired on Sept. 30, no new acres could be added as old contracts ended.
The farm bill extension reauthorized and funded CRP through next September, along with rural development initiatives, such as the Rural Micoentrepreneur Assistance Program. It provides funding to organizations that offer small loans and technical support to small business owners with 10 or fewer full-time employees.
“It can help daycare providers, mechanics, small town gyms,” said Kalee Olson, a policy manager at the Center for Rural Affairs.
The nonprofit advocates for small business owners, rural communities and family farms and ranches.
“We're very happy to see a farm bill extension. While it might not be perfect, it's important that, that farm bill is in place,” Olson said. “When we think about the farm bill, we're used to hearing about things like crop insurance, conservation, nutrition programs, but it's also important to remember that the farm bill helps with rural development and research and energy.”
This year’s farm bill extension was unique in that several of the pieces with the largest price tags were attached to the massive tax and spending law in July. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act increased safety net programs for farmers who grow commodities, like corn, soybeans and wheat, and boosted funding for certain conservation programs through 2031.
It also carved out around $186 billion over a decade from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which serves around 42 million people per month.
But Aaron Lehman, president of the Iowa Farmers Union, said the One Big Beautiful Bill damaged the larger food and agriculture coalition needed to pass a new, five-year farm bill.
“We made massive cuts to nutrition programs, which we need both in our urban areas and our rural areas. We left incomplete big portions of the farm bill that were in bad need of updates,” Lehman said. “When that happens, it makes it harder and harder to get policy that works for farmers, for workers and consumers and for our rural landscapes.”
While the latest farm bill extension is a “small step in the right direction,” Lehman said the U.S. needs a comprehensive policy next year with broad support.
But Coppess doubts the delivery vehicle will be another farm bill.
“I think we have to recognize that [the farm bill] looks to be over,” Coppess said. “We don't know yet what replaces it or how, but I don't know that, after [the One Big Beautiful Bill], that it makes sense to keep thinking in terms of that normal, regular order omnibus farm bill.”
Nearly 40% of the economists surveyed in the Farm Journal Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor predict a piecemeal approach will be the new norm.
Reopening USDA offices
Aside from farm bill extension, the federal funding package reopens the government through Jan. 30, provides back pay to federal employees and funds several agencies through next September, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Reopening our local USDA offices that house [Natural Resources Conservation Services] and [Farm Service Agency] staff is really important to farmers and ranchers and rural community members,” Olson said.
NRCS and FSA staff help individuals navigate USDA programs, provide technical assistance and process loan applications. The government shutdown disrupted that support and payments to farmers, Lehman said.
“It really added all sorts of uncertainty to farmers at a time when we need some stability,” Lehman said, referring to low crop prices, high production costs, trade wars and expected spikes in health care costs; tax subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans are set to expire at the end of the year.
Lehman said restarting the government and USDA programs is “just the bare minimum to keep the wheels turning. It really doesn't mean we're moving yet in the right direction.”
Funding for the USDA in the budget deal includes $107.5 billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and $8.2 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
The USDA directed states on Thursday to “take immediate steps to ensure households receive their full November [SNAP] allotments promptly” after weeks of uncertainty and legal fighting.
This story was produced in partnership with Harvest Public Media, a collaboration of public media newsrooms in the Midwest and Great Plains. It reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.
