Order Code RS22131
Updated April 1, 2008
What Is the “Farm Bill”?
Renée Johnson
Analyst in Agricultural Economics
Resources, Science, and Industry Division
Summary
The farm bill, renewed about every five years, governs federal farm and food
policy. The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-171) is the most
recent omnibus farm bill, covering a wide range of programs including commodity price
and income support, farm credit, agricultural conservation, research, rural development,
and foreign and domestic food programs, among others. On July 27, 2007, the House
passed its version of the 2007 farm bill, H.R. 2419, which changes some aspects of the
current commodity support system and other farm programs. On December 14, the
Senate passed its version of the 2007 farm bill, which was offered as a substitute to H.R.
2419. Conference negotiations have been delayed because of differences between
committee leadership and the Administration. Consequently, Congress temporarily
extended portions of the expiring 2002 farm bill until March 15, 2008, as part of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2008 (P.L. 110-161). On March 12, Congress
approved a second one-month extension (S. 2745) that lasts through April 18, 2008.
What Is the “Farm Bill”?
Federal farm support, food assistance, agricultural trade, marketing, and rural
development policies are governed by a variety of separate laws. Although many of these
policies can be and sometimes are modified through freestanding authorizing legislation,
or as part of other laws, the omnibus, multi-year farm bill provides an opportunity for
policymakers to address comprehensively most of the programs of the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA). The omnibus character of the bill can create a broader coalition
of support among sometimes conflicting interests for policies that, individually, might not
survive the legislative process. This same climate also can stir fierce competition for
available funds.
The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-171) is the most
recent omnibus farm bill.1 Under current law, the farm bill has ten titles that cover:
1 There have been several omnibus farm bills (2002, 1996, 1990, 1985, 1981, 1977, 1973). Major
prior agriculture legislation occurred in 1970, 1965, 1956, 1954, 1949, 1948, 1938, and 1933.

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! Title I, Commodity Programs: Income support to growers of selected
farm commodities, including wheat, feed grains, cotton, rice, oilseeds,
peanuts, sugar, and dairy. Commodity support is largely through direct
payments, counter-cyclical payments, and marketing loans. Other
support mechanisms include government purchases, marketing quotas,
and import barriers.
! Title II, Conservation: Environmental stewardship of farmlands and
improved management practices through land retirement and working
lands programs, among other programs geared to farmland conservation,
preservation, and resource protection.
! Title III, Agricultural Trade and Food Aid: U.S. agriculture export
and international food assistance programs, and various World Trade
Organization (WTO) obligations.
! Title IV, Nutrition: Domestic food and nutrition and commodity
distribution programs, such as food stamps and supplemental food
assistance.
! Title V, Farm Credit: Federal direct and guaranteed farm loan
programs. Also specifies loan eligibility rules and other policies.
! Title VI, Rural Development: Business and community programs for
planning, feasibility assessments, and coordination activities with other
local, state, and federal programs, including rural broadband access.
! Title VII, Research: Agricultural research and extension programs,
including biosecurity/response, biotechnology, and organic production.
! Title VIII, Forestry: USDA Forest Service programs, including
forestry management, enhancement, and agroforestry programs.
! Title IX, Energy: Bioenergy programs and grants for procurement of
biobased products to support development of biorefineries and assist
eligible farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses in purchasing
renewable energy systems, as well as user education programs.
! Title X, Miscellaneous: Other types of farm programs and assistance,
including crop insurance, disaster assistance, animal welfare and
inspections, country-of-origin labeling, organic agriculture, and some
specialty commodities, among others.2
More detailed background and information on individual titles under current law is
in CRS Report RL33037, Previewing a 2007 Farm Bill.
What Is the Current Policy Setting?
Several major issues are framing the current farm bill debate. For example, are
current commodity support and risk management programs equitable across all producers
of program crops and specialty crops? Should program payments be limited per person?
Is permanent disaster assistance needed in addition to crop insurance programs? There
is general consensus to increase funding and expand current programs in the area of
conservation, forestry, bioenergy, rural development, agricultural research, farm credit,
2 The House bill would create a new horticulture title, whereas the Senate bill would create a new
livestock title. Both the House and Senate bills also contain new bill titles with provisions that
would make certain changes to tax laws, offsetting new spending initiatives in the 2007 farm bill.

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marketing and export promotion, foreign food aid, and domestic food and nutrition. What
would be the source of funding to expand programs, given current budgetary constraints?
Budgetary Considerations. As with all federal programs, the farm bill faces
budgetary constraints imposed by Congress. Recent federal deficits have raised concerns
with respect to reauthorization or expansion of current farm programs. Current budget
projections also show a lower baseline budget for agriculture programs for the 2007 farm
bill, mainly because high commodity prices have caused projections of future farm
program spending to fall sharply if current law were continued in the future.
The Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO’s) March 2007 baseline budget serves as
the official benchmark for the FY2008 budget resolution and for scoring the budgetary
impacts of a 2007 farm bill. The CBO baseline assumes continuation of current farm bill
policies under expected economic conditions. It is the budget resolution that set the actual
spending constraints for the House and Senate Agriculture Committees as they drafted a
new farm bill.
On May 17, 2007, Congress approved the FY2008 budget resolution, which adopted
the baseline budget as the fiscal parameter for the next farm bill. It also includes a $20
billion reserve fund (above baseline) for new farm bill spending over five years.3
However, any new spending must be deficit-neutral, meaning that it would have to be
offset with equivalent reductions in other federal spending for existing mandatory
programs, or by raising revenues. Large increases in the market prices of corn and other
commodities since the summer of 2006 have contributed to a lower March 2007 baseline
for farm program spending. The March 2007 baseline projects spending for commodity
support payments under current law to be $42.4 billion for the FY2008-FY2013 period,
which is about $30 billion lower than actual spending in the previous six years (Table 1).
Baseline estimates for mandatory conservation programs and the food stamps program for
the next six years are higher compared to the previous six years. For more information,
see CRS Report RS22694, Farm Bill Budget and Costs, 2002 vs. 2007.
Trade Negotiations and Commitments. The current debate continues to be
influenced by obligations concerning the design and size of farm subsidies under the
World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture, as well as by the U.S.
position in the Doha Round of multilateral negotiations.
Agreement in the Doha Round was expected to converge in 2007 with the expiration
of the 2002 farm bill, and to occur well before the June 30, 2007, expiration of Trade
Promotion Authority (TPA), which provides for expedited congressional consideration
of trade agreements. Some policymakers wanted a Doha Round agreement so that the
next farm bill could be made consistent with new farm trade rules; others argued that the
United States should not unilaterally change its own subsidy programs ahead of any
multilateral trade agreement. However, progress in the Doha Round stalled in 2006.
Now many in Congress are seeking to write a new farm bill without regard to any future
Doha Round agreement. Nevertheless, criticisms and legal challenges by some WTO
member countries of current U.S. farm programs, and the backdrop of the ongoing
3 Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2008, Deficit-Neutral Reserve Fund for
the Farm Bill (H.Rept. 110-153, conference report, Section 307).

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negotiations, could influence the choices U.S. lawmakers have in designing new farm
policies.4 EU officials have publicly stated that changes to U.S. domestic support
programs suggested by the Bush Administration’s farm bill proposal do not go far enough
in meeting Doha Round objectives for farm trade policy reform.
Table 1. 2002 Farm Bill Actual Spending (FY2002-FY2007 est.)
and the March 2007 CBO Baseline (FY2008-FY2013)
Commodity
Food
Conservation
Exports
Total
Support
Stamps
(outlays in $ millions)
Baseline (FY08-FY13)
42,446
26,496
2,005
225,845
296,792
Actual (FY02-FY07)
72,934
18,323
1,648
178,158
271,063
Baseline vs. Actual
-30,488
+8,173
+357
+47,687
+25,729
Source: Compiled by CRS from various Congressional Budget Office (CBO) baselines.
The Administration’s Policy Recommendations. In January 2007, the Bush
Administration released its own detailed recommendations for the farm bill that, if
enacted, could substantially alter some aspects of the current commodity support system.
There also is substantial momentum behind recommendations to enhance conservation,
rural development, trade promotion, domestic food assistance, agricultural credit, energy,
and research. However, given the budget constraints, the cost of any new initiatives
would have to be offset by reductions in spending, either within existing farm bill
programs or elsewhere, or by increases in revenues.
The Administration’s stated approach for the farm bill is to take a “reform-minded
and fiscally responsible approach to making farm policy more equitable, predictable and
protected from challenge.”5 In part, this refers to the perceived need to more evenly
distribute federal program spending and benefits across a larger share of the U.S. farm
community, as well as the perceived need to modify current farm programs to better
comply with WTO obligations and limit future legal challenges from other countries.
Some of these same concerns have been voiced in recommendations and proposals by
other organizations and interest groups. For more information on the USDA proposal, see
CRS Report RL33916, The USDA 2007 Farm Bill Proposal: Possible Questions.
Other Recommendations/Proposals. The current farm bill debate differs from
the 2002 debate in the number and scope of proposals seeking changes to the current
legislation, some of which have gained support within and outside Congress. In addition
to the Administration proposal, several organizations and interest groups have released
their own recommendations for the farm bill. These include state organizations, national
farm groups, commodity associations, conservation and rural development organizations,
4 For more information, see CRS Report RL33144, WTO Doha Round: The Agricultural
Negotiations; CRS Report RL33697, Potential Challenges to U.S. Farm Subsidies in the WTO;
and CRS Report RL33853, Canada’s WTO Case Against U.S. Agricultural Support.
5 USDA, “Johanns Unveils 2007 Farm Bill Proposals,” Release No. 0020.07, January 31, 2007,
at [http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome].

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and several non-traditional interest groups. These policy recommendations represent
diverse interests seeking objectives ranging from maintaining current programs to
substantially altering or eliminating them. Some of these recommendations have been
incorporated into legislation introduced by some Members of Congress who are directly
challenging the existing farm programs and policies, including a number of
comprehensive legislative proposals that seek broad-based changes to existing farm
legislation and programs. Others in Congress may be reluctant to change current
programs because they are strongly supported by the long-time beneficiaries.

What Is the Status of Current Congressional Action?
Early in 2007, the chairmen of both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees
indicated their intention to complete work on a new farm bill prior to the August 2007
recess, with full congressional action by September. The House Agriculture Committee
conducted its markup of its version of the farm bill (H.R. 2419) in mid-July. House floor
action was completed on July 27, 2007. In the Senate, regional differences and budget
limitations delayed action by the Senate Agriculture Committee, which approved its
version of the farm bill (S. 2302) on October 25, 2007. On December 14, the Senate
completed floor action on its farm bill, which was offered as a substitute to the House bill.
Conference negotiations have been delayed because of differences between committee
leadership and the Administration.
Major changes and provisions in the House and Senate versions of the farm bill
include proposed changes to commodity support and risk management policies and
programs (such as direct payments, payment limits, revenue and counter-cyclical
payments, crop insurance and disaster assistance, planting flexibility, and specialty crops),
as well as provisions affecting conservation, bioenergy, rural development, forestry,
agricultural research, competition, trade and food aid, agriculture credit, and domestic
food programs and nutrition. Both the House and Senate bills also contain provisions that
would make certain changes to tax laws, which are intended to offset new spending
initiatives in the farm bill.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2008 (P.L. 110-161), which funds most
domestic programs for FY2008, extends certain provisions of the 2002 farm bill until
March 15, 2008. On March 12, Congress approved a second one-month extension (S.
2745) that lasts through April 18, 2008. The duration of the extension is expected to be
sufficient for conference negotiations to resolve differences between the House- and
Senate-passed farm bills. A new farm bill is expected to become effective for the 2008
crop year for most of the supported farm commodities, and for other programs for the
remainder of FY2008 and beyond. Information about what might happen if Congress
does not enact a new farm bill as various provisions of the 2002 farm bill expire is
provided in CRS Report RL34154, Possible Expiration of the 2002 Farm Bill.
More detailed information is available in CRS Report RL33934, Farm Bill
Legislative Action in the 110th Congress, and CRS Report RL34228, Comparison of the
House and Senate 2007 Farm Bills. See also the CRS Current Legislative Issues Web
page “Farm Bill and Farm Policy,” which provides links to individual CRS reports on
specific issue areas and titles of the farm bill.

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Table 2. 2007 Farm Bill Timeline
May 2005 — One of the first comprehensive sets of recommendations for the next farm bill is released by a
major agricultural trade association, followed by proposal by other major interest groups and
organizations (both traditional farm and other nonfarm groups).
July 7, 2005 — U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) begins its series of 52 farm bill forums starting in
Nashville, TN, and covering nearly all states (excl. Louisiana and Mississippi due to Hurricane Katrina.).
February 6, 2006 — House Committee on Agriculture begins farm bill listening field hearings in Fayetteville,
NC, and other hearings to review federal farm policy.
June 23, 2006 — Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee begins regional farm bill hearings in
Albany, GA, and other hearings to review federal farm policy.
January 2007 — House and Senate Agriculture Committees begin hearings on selected farm bill topics.
January 31, 2007 — USDA releases its farm bill recommendations, covering each title of the current law.
February 2007 — One of the first comprehensive bills recommending broad changes to current law is
introduced in the Senate, followed by other broad-based bill introduced by others in the House and
Senate.
March 21, 2007 — Congressional Budget Office (CBO) releases its multi-year March baseline estimate of
spending, providing the starting point for the budget allocation for the new farm bill.
March 21, 2007 — House Committee on Agriculture begins subcommittee markup on individual titles of the
farm bill, proceeding through June 19, 2007.
May 17, 2007 — Congress approves the FY2008 budget resolution, adopting the baseline budget as the fiscal
parameters and including a $20 billion reserve for the new farm bill.
July 17, 2007 — House Committee on Agriculture begins full committee markup on individual titles of the
farm bill (H.R. 2419), proceeding through July 19, 2007.
July 26-27, 2007 — Floor debate and passage of H.R. 2419 in the House.
October 4, 2007 — Senate Finance Committee approves a bill (S. 2242) that would create new tax credits and
a disaster trust fund for farmers, as part of the 2002 farm bill reauthorization.
October 24, 2007 — Senate Agriculture Committee begins full committee markup on individual titles of the
farm bill (S. 2302), proceeding through October 25, 2007.
November 5, 2007 — Senate floor debate begins, with the Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman offering
an amended Senate bill as a substitute (S.Amdt. 3500) to H.R. 2419. The bill includes provisions in S.
2242.
November 16, 2007 — Further action in the Senate is delayed when a key vote in the Senate fails to invoke
cloture on the Senate version of the farm bill.
December 14, 2007 — Floor debate and passage of the Senate version of the farm bill, which was offered as a
substitute to H.R. 2419 (Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007).
December 26, 2007 — The Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2008 (P.L. 110-161) is signed into law
and extends certain expiring provisions of the 2002 farm bill until March 15, 2008.
February 4, 2008 — Senate appoints conferees.
March 12, 2008 — Congress approves a second one-month extension (S. 2745) that lasts through April 18,
2008.

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