Farm Bill 2008

A new farm bill, known as the "Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008," became law in June 2008. USDA is now developing rules for the many programs contained in the bill.  Farm Bureau strongly supported passage of this bill.

SUMMARY OF OFBF PRIORITY ISSUES:

OFBF achieved the inclusion of all of our farm policy priority issues in this new farm bill. To
summarize:

    * Commodity Programs: The bill includes improved safety net programs for farmers, with the addition of a revenue program and loan and target price re-balancing. It maintains the current structure of the safety net for American agriculture, including direct payments, counter-cyclical payments and the marketing loan program.

  •  Direct payments are reduced 2 percent in 2009, 2010 and 2011. They are increased back to current levels in 2012 to maintain the baseline. This amounts to a $313 million cut.

  •   Loan rates and target prices are rebalanced for some crops in 2010, whereas wheat target increases from $3.92 to $4.17 and soybean from $5.80 to $6. Also in 2010, wheat loan increases to $2.94.


    * Conservation Programs: Spending for the conservation title is increased by $4.5 billion, including additional funding for working lands programs. This includes:

  • $2.4 billion in additional funds for Environmental Quality Incentives Program

  • $1.1 billion in additional funds for the Conservation Stewardship Program


    * Specialty Crops: More than $1.3 billion in new mandatory funding is provided to specialty crops. The bulk of this funding is in the form of block grants to states, but other provisions include technical assistance for specialty crops, farmers' market promotion and organic certification cost share and greatly expands the fruit and vegetable snack program in schools.

    * Livestock: Livestock receive increased EQIP funding, extension of the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program, the ability to allow interstate shipment of state-inspected meat, an improved Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) program, some new safeguards for contract producers, increased cellulosic reach and development funding, and more.

    * Renewable Energy: Provides $1 billion to fund programs that will help the renewable energy industry invest in new technologies that use a variety of sources beyond feed grains. The corn ethanol tax credit was reduced and redirected to incentives for cellulosic ethanol. The bill also creates a loan guarantee program and a program to encourage and develop production of dedicated energy crops, and bioenergy research is increased and renewable energy programs expanded.

    * Rural Development: This bill makes critical investments in our rural communities by providing infrastructure needs and promotes economic development; addresses health care, emergency, and first responder needs of rural areas; improves access to broadband telecommunications services in rural areas with a greater focus on the rural communities of greatest need and extends and makes major changes to the broadband program to focus loans on underserved rural areas; expands opportunities for locally grown, organic and small producers; and much more.