The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is required
by law to subsidize approximately two dozen specified agricultural commodities. Several permanent
statutes provide the basic authority for these subsidies; more recent multi-year farm bills shape their
operation and funding levels. The most recent omnibus farm bill is the Farm Security and Rural
Investment Act of 2002 (P.L.107-171). However, Congress since FY1989 has also passed 30
appropriations, authorization, or farm disaster acts adding approximately $53 billion in supplemental
funding for USDA farm and related programs (through October 2004). This report will not be
updated.