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Updated May 2, 2018
Farm Bill Primer: Programs Without Baseline Beyond FY2018
The 2014 farm bill (the Agricultural Act of 2014, P.L. 113-
Generally, a program with estimated mandatory spending in
79) authorized $489 billion of mandatory spending over
the last year of its authorization will be assumed to continue
FY2014-FY2018. It generally expires at the end of FY2018.
in the baseline as if there were no change in policy and it
From a budgetary perspective, many of these programs are
did not expire. Other programs, though, are not assumed to
assumed to continue beyond their authorization. That is,
continue in the baseline, because they have mandatory
they have a “baseline” beyond the end of the farm bill.
spending less than a minimum $50 million scoring
Having a baseline essentially gives programs built-in future
threshold in the last year of the farm bill or were not given
funding if policymakers decide that the programs should
baseline to continue by the authorizing committees.
continue, or, if not, the baseline can be reallocated to other
programs or used as an offset for deficit reduction.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects future
government spending in its budget baselines but has not
However, a subset of programs that received mandatory
specifically published a list of expiring farm bill programs
funding in the 2014 farm bill does not have a baseline
without a continuing baseline. To compile this list, CRS
beyond the end of the farm bill. These are referred to as
analyzed the CBO score of the 2014 farm bill, the statutory
“farm bill programs without a baseline” and do not have
text of the law, and current CBO baseline projection,
assured future funding. Reauthorization in the next farm bill
looking for programs that received mandatory funding but
would have a positive score (cost) and likely need to be
do not have baseline beyond FY2018 (Figure 1, Table 1).
offset by reductions elsewhere.
Figure 1. 2014 Farm Bill Programs Without a Budget Baseline After FY2018
Source: Compiled by CRS using the text of P.L. 113-79; the CBO score of the Agricultural Act of 2014, Table 4, “Detailed Effects on Direct
Spending,” January 28, 2014; and the CBO Baseline Projection for USDA Mandatory Farm Programs, April 2018.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Farm Bill Primer: Programs Without Baseline Beyond FY2018
Table 1. 2014 Farm Bill Programs Without Baseline
Based on this analysis, 39 programs across 10 of the 12
titles of the farm bill do not have a continuing baseline after
Section
Name of Provision
FY2018. These programs had estimated mandatory
1614
Commodity Program Implementation
spending totaling $2.824 billion over the five-year window
2502
Grassroots Source Water Protection
of the farm bill. Any extended authorization of these
programs would be scored as new mandatory spending,
2503
Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive
which may require either offsets from existing baseline for
2505
Small Watershed Rehabilitation
other programs or an increase in net spending.
2507
Terminal Lakes
As a share of the $489 billion five-year mandatory cost of
2609
Wetlands Mitigation Banking
the farm bill in 2014 when it was enacted, programs
3013
Foreign Market Development Program
without a baseline beyond FY2018 are relatively small:
0.6% of the total projected farm bill spending, or 2.5% of
3205
Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops
the total excluding the nutrition programs. However, the
4004
Food Distribution Indian Reservations Study
impact of programs without a baseline varies by title of the
4022
Pilot Projects to Reduce Dependency
farm bill.
4025
Review of Cash Assistance Program in Puerto Rico
Notable programs without continuing baseline include
4029
Retail Food Store and Recipient Trafficking
certain conservation programs; most of the bioenergy, rural
development, and research title programs that received
4031
Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands Pilot
mandatory spending; various nutrition title pilot programs
4208
Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive
and studies; organic agriculture and farmers’ market
4214
Pilot for Canned, Frozen, or Dried Fruits,
programs; trade promotion programs; and outreach to
Vegetables
socially disadvantaged and military veteran farmers.
6023
Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance
For the rural development title, 100% of the mandatory
6203
Value-added Ag. Product Market Development
spending in the 2014 farm bill was by programs that do not
6210
Pending Water and Waste Disposal Applications
have baseline beyond FY2018. For the bioenergy and
research titles, the share was at least one-half. At the other
7211
Organic Agricultural Research and Extension
extreme, nutrition programs and the farm safety net—
7409
Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development
including crop insurance and the commodity programs—
have less than 1% in programs without a continuing
7601
Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research
baseline (CRS Report R44758, Farm Bill Programs
9002
Biobased Markets
Without a Budget Baseline Beyond FY2018).
9003
Biorefinery Assistance
With $2.8 billion of programs without baseline, the 2014
9004
Repowering Assistance
farm bill has less dollar exposure to such programs than did
9005
Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels
the 2008 farm bill, which had 37 programs without baseline
totaling an estimated $9 billion to $14 billion. The 2014
9006
Biodiesel Fuel Education
farm bill provided 29 of those 37 programs with $6.2
9008
Biomass Research and Development
billion of mandatory funding over FY2014-FY2018. Some
9010
Biomass Crop Assistance
of those programs reappear on the current list of 2014 farm
bill programs without baseline, while others either received
10003
Farmers’ Market and Local Food Promotion
a continuing baseline or were not reauthorized.
10004(a)
Organic Production and Market Data Initiative
10004(b)
National Organic Program Technology Upgrade
CRS Products
10004(c)
National Organic Certification Cost-share
CRS In Focus IF10783, Farm Bill Primer: Budget Issues.
11020
Crop Insurance Implementation
CRS Report R44758, Farm Bill Programs Without a Budget
Baseline Beyond FY2018.
11026
Index-based Weather Insurance Pilot
CRS In Focus IF10187, Farm Bill Primer: What Is the Farm Bill?
12102
Sheep Production and Marketing Grant
12201
Outreach: Socially Disadvantaged, Veteran
Producers
12314
Pima Cotton Trust Fund
Jim Monke, Specialist in Agricultural Policy
12315
Wool Apparel Manufacturers Trust Fund
IF10780
12316
Wool Research and Promotion
Source: P.L. 113-79 and CRS Report R44758, Farm Bill Programs
Without a Budget Baseline Beyond FY2018.
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Farm Bill Primer: Programs Without Baseline Beyond FY2018
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
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