Updated June 28, 2022
Farm Bill Primer: What Is the Farm Bill?
The farm bill is an omnibus, multiyear law that governs an
The 2018 Farm Bill (P.L. 115-334), by Title
array of agricultural and food programs. It provides an
Title I, Commodities: Provides support for major commodity
opportunity for policymakers to comprehensively and
crops, including wheat, corn, soybeans, peanuts, rice, dairy, and
periodically address agricultural and food issues. In
sugar, as well as disaster assistance.
addition to developing and enacting farm legislation,
Title II, Conservation: Encourages environmental stewardship
Congress is involved in overseeing its implementation. The
of farmlands and improved management through land retirement
farm bill typically is renewed about every five years. Since
programs, working lands programs, or both.
the 1930s, Congress has enacted 18 farm bills.
Title III, Trade: Supports U.S. agricultural export programs and
Farm bills traditionally have focused on farm commodity
international food assistance programs.
program support for a handful of staple commodities—
Title IV, Nutrition: Provides nutrition assistance for low-
corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, peanuts, dairy, and
income households through programs, including the
sugar. Farm bills have become increasingly expansive in
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
nature since 1973, when a nutrition title was first included.
Title V, Credit: Offers direct government loans and guarantees
Other prominent additions since then include horticulture
to producers to buy land and operate farms and ranches.
and bioenergy titles and expansion of conservation,
research, and rural development titles.
Title VI, Rural Development: Supports rural housing,
community facilities, business, and utility programs through
Without reauthorization, some farm bill programs would
grants, loans, and guarantees.
expire, such as the nutrition assistance and farm commodity
Title VII, Research, Extension, and Related Matters:
support programs. Other programs have permanent
Supports agricultural research and extension programs to expand
authority and do not need reauthorization (e.g., crop
academic knowledge and help producers be more productive.
insurance) and are included in a farm bill to make policy
Title VIII, Forestry: Supports forestry management programs
changes or achieve budgetary goals. The farm bill extends
run by USDA’s Forest Service.
authorizations of discretionary programs. The farm bill also
Title IX, Energy: Encourages the development of farm and
suspends long-abandoned permanent laws for certain farm
community renewable energy systems through various programs,
commodity programs from the 1940s that used supply
including grants and loan guarantees.
controls and price regimes that would be costly if restored.
Title X, Horticulture: Supports the production of specialty
The omnibus nature of the farm bill can create broad
crops, USDA-certified organic foods, and locally produced foods
coalitions of support among sometimes conflicting interests
and authorizes a regulatory framework for industrial hemp.
for policies that individually might have greater difficulty
Title XI, Crop Insurance: Enhances risk management through
achieving majority support in the legislative process. In
the permanently authorized Federal Crop Insurance Program.
recent years, more stakeholders have become involved in
Title XII, Miscellaneous: Includes programs and assistance for
the debate on farm bills, including national farm groups;
livestock and poultry production, support for beginning farmers
commodity associations; state organizations; nutrition and
and ranchers, and other miscellaneous and general provisions.
public health officials; and advocacy groups representing
conservation, recreation, rural development, faith-based
What Was the Estimated Cost in 2018?
interests, local food systems, and organic production. These
factors can contribute to increased interest in the allocation
Farm bills authorize programs in two spending categories:
of funds provided in a farm bill.
mandatory and discretionary. While both types of programs
are important, mandatory programs usually dominate the
What Is in the 2018 Farm Bill?
farm bill debate. Programs with mandatory spending
The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 farm bill;
generally operate as entitlements, and the farm bill provides
P.L. 115-334, H.Rept. 115-1072)—enacted in December
mandatory funding for programs based on multiyear budget
2018 and generally expiring in 2023—is the most recent
estimates (baseline). Programs with authorized
omnibus farm bill. It contains 12 titles (see text box).
discretionary funding are not funded in the farm bill; any
Provisions in the 2018 farm bill modified some of the farm
discretionary appropriations for these programs would be
commodity programs, expanded crop insurance, amended
provided through separate congressional action.
conservation programs, reauthorized and revised nutrition
assistance, and extended authority to appropriate funds for
At enactment in December 2018, the Congressional Budget
many U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Office (CBO) estimated that the total cost of the mandatory
discretionary programs through FY2023.
programs in the farm bill was $428 billion over its five-year
duration, FY2019-FY2023, or $1.8 billion more than a five-
year extension of the 2014 farm bill (P.L. 113-79).
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Farm Bill Primer: What Is the Farm Bill?
Farm bills have both 5-year and 10-year budget projections.
indicated in law for other farm bill programs that are not
The 10-year score for the 2018 farm bill was budget
included in the annual projection, the current baseline for
neutral, and program outlays were projected to remain at
farm bill programs is estimated at $648 billion over 5 years
$867 billion over FY2019-FY2028 (Table 1). Four titles
(FY2023-FY2027) and $1,295 billion over 10 years
accounted for 99% of the 2018 farm bill’s mandatory
(FY2023-FY2032) (Figure 1). A new CBO baseline in
spending: Nutrition (primarily SNAP), Commodities, Crop
2023 is to update these amounts and add a future fiscal
Insurance, and Conservation. Programs in all other farm bill
year.
titles accounted for about 1% of mandatory outlays; these
programs were authorized to receive mostly discretionary
Figure 1. Baseline for Farm Bill Programs, by Title
(appropriated) funds.
(bil ion dol ars, 10-year mandatory outlays, FY2023-FY2032)
Table 1. Budget for the 2018 Farm Bill and the
Baseline in 2022 for Farm Bill Programs
(dol ars in mil ions, 10-year mandatory outlays)
2018 Farm Bill
Baseline as of
at Enactment
May 2022
FY2019-FY2028
FY2023-FY2032
Titles
($ millions)
($ millions)
Commodities
61,414
56,185
Conservation
59,748
59,214
Trade
4,094
4,810
Nutrition
663,828
1,090,484
Credit
-4,558
a/

Source: CRS using the CBO Baseline (May 2022) for the five largest
Rural Development
-2,362
a/
titles, and amounts in law for programs in other titles.
Research
1,219
1,300
Note: Total estimated at $1,295 bil ion.
Forestry
10
a/
The relative proportions of farm bill spending have shifted
Energy
737
500
over time. In the 2022 projection, the Nutrition title is 84%
of the farm bill baseline, compared with about 76% when
Horticulture
2,047
2,100
the 2018 farm bill was enacted and 67% in the 2008 farm
Crop Insurance
77,933
79,761
bill. Sharp increases in the Nutrition title reflect pandemic
assistance and administrative adjustments made to SNAP
Miscellaneous
3,091
800
benefit calculations. For non-nutrition farm bill programs,
baseline amounts in 2022 are slightly lower than when the
Total
867,200
1,295,154
2018 farm bill was enacted ($205 billion over 10 years as of
Sources: CRS using CRS Report R45425, Budget Issues That Shaped
2022 compared with $210 billion over 10 years in 2018).
the 2018 Farm Bil ; CBO Baseline (May 2022), at https://www.
cbo.gov/about/products/baseline-projections-selected-programs, for
Supplemental spending is not part of the baseline but may
the five largest titles; and amounts in law for programs in other titles.
be important because of its size in recent years. In FY2019
and FY2020, the Trump Administration increased outlays
Notes: a/ = Baseline for the credit title is likely negative indicating
by a total of over $25 billion to farmers and ranchers
payments into the Farm Credit System Insurance fund. The rural
affected by retaliatory tariffs. Since FY2020, Congress and
development title has no current programs with baseline. Baseline for
the White House have provided over $30 billion of
the forestry title is $10 mil ion or less.
supplemental pandemic assistance to farms and over $60
What Is the Farm Bill Budget for 2023?
billion for nutrition.
The CBO baseline represents budget authority and is a
projection at a particular point in time of what future federal
Information in Selected CRS Reports
spending on mandatory programs would be assuming
CRS Report R47057, Preparing for the Next Farm Bill
current law continues. It is the benchmark against which
CRS Report R45425, Budget Issues That Shaped the 2018 Farm
proposed changes in law are measured. Having a baseline
Bill
provides projected future funding if policymakers decide
that programs are to continue.
CRS Report R45210, Farm Bills: Major Legislative Actions, 1965-
2018
CBO’s scoring baseline for the 2023 legislative session is

expected in early 2023 and is to cover the 10-year period
Renée Johnson, Specialist in Agricultural Policy
FY2024-FY2033. Presently, the May 2022 CBO baseline is
Jim Monke, Specialist in Agricultural Policy
the best indicator of future funding availability. Using this
projection for the major farm bill programs, and funding
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Farm Bill Primer: What Is the Farm Bill?


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