Farm Bill Primer: Budget Issues

Farm Bill Primer: Budget Issues

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Updated April 26, 2018
Farm Bill Primer: Budget Issues
Farm Bills from a Budget Perspective
Assistance Program ($664 billion). The remaining $203
billion baseline is for agricultural programs, mostly in crop
Congress may soon consider a new farm bill, because the
insurance, farm commodity programs, and conservation.
2014 farm bill (P.L. 113-79) generally expires in FY2018.
Other titles of the farm bill contribute less than 1% of the
From a budgetary perspective, many programs are assumed
baseline, some of which are funded primarily with
to continue beyond the end of the farm bill, and that
discretionary spending.
provides funding for reauthorization, reallocation to other
programs, or offsets for deficit reduction.
This is the benchmark of available funding from which the
House and the Senate may write bills for a new farm bill in
There are two ways to provide farm bill funding:
2018. Figure 1 shows the current CBO baseline for farm
bill programs over the next 10 years. Figure 2 illustrates
1. Mandatory spending. A farm bill authorizes
the same baseline on an annual basis. Table 1 adds detail at
outlays and pays for them with multiyear
the program level for the farm commodity programs,
budget estimates when the law is enacted.
conservation, trade, and miscellaneous titles.
Budget enforcement is through “PayGo”
budget rules and “baseline” projections.
Figure 1. Farm Bill Baseline for Mandatory Programs
2. Discretionary authorizations. A farm bill
10-year projected outlays, FY2019-FY2028, billions of dollars
sets the parameters for programs and
authorizes them to receive funding in
subsequent appropriations but does not
provide or assure actual funding. Budget
enforcement is through future appropriations
and budget resolutions.
Because mandatory programs often dominate farm bill
policy and the debate over the farm bill budget, the rest of
this document focuses on mandatory spending.
Importance of Baseline to the Farm Bill
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) develops the
budget baseline under various laws and follows the
supervision of the House and Senate Budget Committees.
The CBO baseline is a projection at a particular point in

time of future federal spending on mandatory programs
Source: CRS, using CBO April 2018 Baseline (unpublished).
under current law. The baseline is the benchmark against
which proposed changes in law are measured.
Figure 2. Farm Bill Baseline for FY2019-FY2028
Annual fiscal year projected outlays, billions of dollars
When a new bill is proposed that would affect mandatory
spending, the cost impact (score) is measured in relation to
the baseline. Changes that increase spending relative to the
baseline have a positive score; those that decrease spending
relative to the baseline have a negative score.
Most of the major farm bill provisions such as the farm
commodity programs and nutrition assistance have
baseline. However, 39 programs that were authorized in the
2014 farm bill with mandatory funding do not have a
continuing baseline (see CRS Report R44758, Farm Bill
Programs Without a Budget Baseline Beyond FY2018).
CBO’s April 2018 Baseline
The mandatory spending baseline for farm bill programs
contains $867 billion over FY2019-FY2028, 77% of which

is in the nutrition title for the Supplemental Nutrition
Source: CRS, using CBO April 2018 Baseline (unpublished).
https://crsreports.congress.gov

Farm Bill Primer: Budget Issues
Table 1. Mandatory Farm Bill Programs with Baseline Projections
10-year projected budget outlays, FY2019-FY2028, millions of dollars
2014 Farm Bill
FY19-28
2014 Farm Bill
FY19-28
Title and Program
baseline

Title and Program
baseline
Title I: Farm Commodity Programs

Title III: Trade

Price Loss Coverage
43,921
Market Access Program
2,000
Agricultural Risk Coverage
8,529
Export Donations Ocean Transportation
1,544

Disaster Programs
3,868
2014 programs without continuing baseline
80
Other (incl. net interest, operating expenses)
2,723
Subtotal
3,624
Dairy
1,624
Title IV: Nutrition (SNAP)
663,828
Marketing loans, loan deficiency payments
486
Title V: Credit (receipts to FCS ins. fund)
-4,558

Subtotal
61,151
Title VI: Rural Development
168
Title II: Conservation

Title VII: Research (incl. SCRI)
604
Conservation Reserve Program
21,097
Title VIII: Forestry
10

Conservation Security Program
17,729
Title IX: Energy (incl. REAP)
612
Environmental Quality Incentives Program
16,697
Title X: Horticulture (incl. SCBG, PPDM)
1,547
Agricultural Conservation Easement Program
2,597
Title XI: Crop Insurance
78,037

Regional Conservation Partnership Program
1,078
Title XII: Miscellaneous

CRP Technical Assistance
978
Noninsured Assistance Program
2,229

Agricultural Management Assistance
97
Other
195
Programs repealed in 2014 and user fees
10
Subtotal
2,423
Emergency Forestry Conservation Reserve
-40
Total
867,200
Announced sequestration through 2018
-489
Nutrition
663,828

Subtotal
59,754
Non-nutrition
203,372
Source: CRS, using CBO, “Baseline Projections for Selected Programs,” April 2018; and unpublished CBO tables.
Notes: Projected outlays are the fiscal measure used for the enforcement of certain budgetary rules. Outlays are the payments that occur
under a given budget authority that is provided in statute, and may differ in timing from budget authority because the outlay may occur at a
different time than when the contractual obligation is incurred. SNAP=Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, FCS=Farm Credit System,
SCRI=Specialty Crop Research Initiative, REAP=Rural Energy for America Program, SCBG=Specialty Crop Block Grants, and PPDM=Plant Pest
and Disease Management.
CRS Products

CRS In Focus IF10780, Farm Bill Primer: Programs Without

Baseline Beyond FY2018.
CRS Report R44758, Farm Bill Programs Without a Budget

Baseline Beyond FY2018.
CRS In Focus IF10187, Farm Bill Primer: What Is the Farm Bill?.

Jim Monke, Specialist in Agricultural Policy
IF10783

https://crsreports.congress.gov

Farm Bill Primer: Budget Issues

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
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

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