Updated February 29, 2024
Farm Bill Primer: What Is the Farm Bill?
The farm bill is an omnibus, multiyear law that governs an
discretionary programs. The 2018 farm bill, as extended,
array of agricultural and food programs. It provides an
begins expiring at the end of FY2024.
opportunity for policymakers to comprehensively and
periodically address agricultural and food issues. In
Titles of the Farm Bill (P.L. 115-334)
addition to developing and enacting farm legislation,
Title I, Commodities: Provides support for major commodity
Congress is involved in overseeing its implementation. The
crops, including wheat, corn, soybeans, peanuts, rice, dairy, and
farm bill typically is renewed about every five years. Since
sugar, as well as disaster assistance.
the 1930s, Congress has enacted 18 farm bills.
Title II, Conservation: Encourages environmental stewardship
Farm bills traditionally have focused on farm commodity
of farmlands and improved management through land retirement
program support for a handful of staple commodities—
programs, working lands programs, or both.
corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, peanuts, dairy, and
Title III, Trade: Supports U.S. agricultural export programs and
sugar. Farm bills have become increasingly expansive in
international food assistance programs.
nature since 1973, when a nutrition title was first included.
Title IV, Nutrition: Provides nutrition assistance for low-
Other prominent additions since then include horticulture
income households through programs, including the
and bioenergy titles and expansion of conservation,
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
research, and rural development titles.
Title V, Credit: Offers direct government loans and guarantees
Without reauthorization, some farm bill programs expire,
to producers to buy land and operate farms and ranches.
such as the nutrition assistance and farm commodity
Title VI, Rural Development: Supports rural housing,
support programs. Other programs have permanent
community facilities, business, and utility programs through
authority and do not need reauthorization (e.g., crop
grants, loans, and guarantees.
insurance) and are included in a farm bill to make policy
Title VII, Research, Extension, and Related Matters:
changes or achieve budgetary goals. The farm bill extends
Supports agricultural research and extension programs to expand
authorizations of discretionary programs. The farm bill also
academic knowledge and help producers be more productive.
suspends long-abandoned permanent laws for certain farm
Title VIII, Forestry: Supports forestry management programs
commodity programs from the 1940s that used supply
run by USDA’s Forest Service.
controls and price regimes that would be costly if restored.
Title IX, Energy: Encourages the development of farm and
The omnibus nature of the farm bill can create broad
community renewable energy systems through various programs,
coalitions of support among sometimes conflicting interests
including grants and loan guarantees.
for policies that individually might have greater difficulty
Title X, Horticulture: Supports the production of specialty
achieving majority support in the legislative process. In
crops, USDA-certified organic foods, and locally produced foods
recent years, more stakeholders have become involved in
and authorizes a regulatory framework for industrial hemp.
the debate on farm bills, including national farm groups;
Title XI, Crop Insurance: Enhances risk management through
commodity associations; state organizations; nutrition and
the permanently authorized Federal Crop Insurance Program.
public health officials; and advocacy groups representing
Title XII, Miscellaneous: Includes programs and assistance for
conservation, recreation, rural development, faith-based
livestock and poultry production, support for beginning farmers
interests, local food systems, and organic production. These
and ranchers, and other miscellaneous and general provisions.
factors can contribute to increased interest in the allocation
of funds provided in a farm bill.
What Was the Estimated Cost in 2018?
What Is in the 2018 Farm Bill?
Farm bills authorize programs in two spending categories:
The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 farm bill;
mandatory and discretionary. While both types of programs
P.L. 115-334, H.Rept. 115-1072) was the most recent
are important, mandatory programs usually dominate the
omnibus farm bill. It contained 12 titles (see text box). In
farm bill debate. Programs with mandatory spending
November 2023, Congress enacted a one-year extension to
generally operate as entitlements. The farm bill provides
cover FY2024 and crop year 2024 (P.L. 118-22, Division
mandatory funding for programs based on multiyear budget
B, §102). Provisions in the 2018 farm bill modified some of
estimates (baseline). Programs authorized for discretionary
the farm commodity programs, expanded crop insurance,
funding are not funded in the farm bill and wait for future
amended conservation programs, reauthorized and revised
appropriations action.
nutrition assistance, and extended authority to appropriate
funds for many U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Farm bills have both 5-year and 10-year budget projections.
The 10-year score for the 2018 farm bill was budget
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Farm Bill Primer: What Is the Farm Bill?
neutral, and program outlays were projected to be $867
programs that are not included in the annual projection, to
billion over FY2019-FY2028 (Table 1). Four titles
estimate a budget availability in farm bill programs of $682
accounted for 99% of the 2018 farm bill’s mandatory
billion over 5 years (FY2025-FY2029) and $1,401 billion
spending: nutrition (primarily SNAP), commodities, crop
over 10 years (FY2025-FY2034) (Figure 1).
insurance, and conservation. Programs in all other farm bill
titles accounted for about 1% of mandatory outlays and
Figure 1. Baseline for Farm Bill Programs, by Title
receive mostly discretionary (appropriated) funds.
(billion dollars, 10-year mandatory outlays, FY2025-FY2034)
Table 1. Budget for the 2018 Farm Bill and the
Baseline in February 2024 for Farm Bill Programs
(million dollars, 10-year mandatory outlays)
2018 Farm Bill
Baseline as of
at Enactment
February 2024
FY2019-FY2028
FY2025-FY2034
Titles
($ millions)
($ millions)
Commodities
61,414
61,510
Conservation
59,748
57,919
Trade
4,094
4,990
Nutrition
663,828
1,147,727
Credit
-4,558
a/

Source: CRS using the CBO February 2024 baseline for the five
Rural Development
-2,362
a/
largest titles and amounts in law for programs in other titles.
Research
1,219
1,300
The relative proportions of farm bill spending have shifted
over time. In the 2024 projection, the nutrition title is 82%
Forestry
10
a/
of the baseline, compared with about 76% when the 2018
Energy
737
500
farm bill was enacted. Sharp increases in the nutrition title
reflect pandemic assistance and administrative adjustments
Horticulture
2,047
2,100
to SNAP benefit calculations. For non-nutrition programs,
Crop Insurance
77,933
123,999
baseline amounts in 2024 are greater than when the 2018
farm bill was enacted ($253 billion over 10 years as of 2024
Miscellaneous
3,091
800
compared with $210 billion over 10 years in 2018).
Total
867,200
1,400,845
Supplemental spending is not part of the baseline but may
Sources: CRS using CRS Report R45425, Budget Issues That Shaped
be important because of its size in recent years. In FY2019
the 2018 Farm Bill; and CRS analysis of the Congressional Budget
and FY2020, the Trump Administration increased outlays
Office (CBO) February 2024 baseline at https://www.
by over $25 billion to producers affected by retaliatory
cbo.gov/about/products/baseline-projections-selected-programs, for
tariffs. From FY2020 to FY2022, Congress and the White
the five largest titles and amounts in law for programs in other titles.
House provided over $30 billion of supplemental pandemic
Notes: a/ = Baseline for the credit title is likely negative indicating
assistance to farms and over $60 billion for nutrition. In
payments into the Farm Credit System Insurance fund. The rural
addition, P.L. 117-169 (the Inflation Reduction Act of
development title has no current programs with baseline. Baseline for
2022) added over $17 billion in outlays for programs in the
the forestry title is $10 million or less.
farm bill’s conservation and energy titles. Since 2018,
Congress has authorized more than $19 billion of ad hoc
What Is the Current Farm Bill Budget?
disaster assistance for agricultural losses. In 2023, the
The CBO baseline represents budget authority and is a
Biden Administration announced $2 billion from its
projection at a particular point in time of what future federal
authority for trade promotion and food aid. Congress may
spending on mandatory programs would be assuming
address farm bill programs in light of this funding.
current law continues. It is the benchmark against which
proposed changes in law are measured. Having a baseline
Information in Selected CRS Reports
provides projected future funding if policymakers decide
CRS In Focus IF12233, Farm Bill Primer: Budget Dynamics
that programs are to continue.
CRS In Focus IF12115, Farm Bill Primer: Programs Without
CBO released a scoring baseline for the 2023 legislative
Baseline Beyond FY2024
session in May 2023. It may remain the scoring baseline
CRS Report R47659, Expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill and
until CBO releases another baseline in spring 2024, at the
Extension in 2024
discretion of the Budget Committees. The February 2024
CRS Report R45210, Farm Bills: Major Legislative Actions, 1965-
baseline indicates resources that may be in a new scoring
2023
baseline. CRS used this projection for the major farm bill
programs, and funding indicated in law for other farm bill
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Farm Bill Primer: What Is the Farm Bill?

Jim Monke, Specialist in Agricultural Policy
Renée Johnson, Specialist in Agricultural Policy
IF12047


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.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
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reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
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https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF12047 · VERSION 8 · UPDATED

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