Fate of the Farm Bill: A Deeper Dive into the 3 Farm Bill Proposals

Part of our Bills, Bills, Bills series on the upcoming Farm Bill
By Nichelle Harriott, Policy Director
Here in the US, our food system is governed by a giant piece of legislation passed every five years called the farm bill. For anyone working or benefiting from our food system, from farmers to consumers, the farm bill authorizes funding programs that provide loans and technical assistance for farmers, guides conservation stewardship and crop insurance, helps people in low-income households or with limited means to purchase food, and much more.
Currently, the Farm Bill is up for reauthorization. However, members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have been in disagreement on key issues like funding, climate change and SNAP that are stalling the farm bill legislative process. There have been some signs that the process engines have reignited, but the proposals put forward have once again drawn lines in the sand that need to be overcome if a farm bill is to be passed this year. Passing this legislation is urgent given the previous farm bill expired on September 30, 2023 and is operating under a continuing resolution that will soon expire.
There are currently three farm bill proposals on the table –
Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act:
Released by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) as a partisan framework for Senate Democrats on May 1, 2024.

Takeaways: A solid proposal and the only one that includes several HEAL Farm Bill priorities, including protections for farmworkers, a first for the Farm Bill.
Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024:
Passed by the House Agriculture Committee on May 24, 2024 and initially introduced by Chairman Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA) on May 17, 2024.

Takeaways: Introduces dangerous cuts to SNAP and removes climate guardrails from the Inflation Reduction Act conservation funding
Senate Republican Farm Bill Framework:

Ranking member of the Senate Ag Committee Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) released his limited partisan framework for the farm bill on June 11, 2024.

Takeaways: Closely mirrors the dangerous House bill.
Note: No farm bill legislation has been introduced in the Senate as of the writing of this piece.
Here’s a deep dive into how each of the five HEAL Food Alliance Farm Bill priorities were included (or excluded) in these proposals:

1. SECURING DIGNITY AND FAIRNESS FOR FOOD CHAIN WORKERS

For the first time, protections for food and farmworkers are included in Stabenow's framework. By contrast, the House bill and Senate Republican framework fail to address labor at all. For the House bill, there is language that limits regulation of pesticides while none of the proposals address child labor. Ultimately, HEAL will push for a final Farm Bill that includes the provisions from Stabenow's bill.
Yays
Sen. Stabenow’s farm bill proposal aims to enact protections for our nation’s farmworkers, who face dangerous working conditions and exploitative practices while at work. This is the first time we’ve ever seen worker protections included in the Farm Bill and it's thanks to our collective efforts!

The proposed language includes:
1. the establishment of the Farmworker and Food System Worker Advisory Committee to provide recommendations to improve worker safety
2. the expansion of the Farmworker Coordinator role to include other food system workers.
3. a Farm and Food System Workforce Interagency Council to coordinate policy and services available to farmworkers and food system workers.
4. a new grant program to provide disaster assistance to grocery, farm, and food workers.
Nays
The House farm bill and Senate Republican farm bill proposal further endanger workers by including preemption language limiting the ability of states and municipalities to regulate pesticides. The Senate Republican framework includes a small provision requiring USDA to publish new food safety criteria for meat processors in order to operate at increased line speeds, but this does not seem to be centered around worker safety. None of the proposals address concerns about child labor in agriculture.

2. PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL PRODUCERS

All three farm bill proposals expand support for heirs’ property land owners and include more flexible credit options for producers. However none provide meaningful solutions for increasing land access, especially for beginning, small and BIPOC farmers. HEAL will push for a final farm bill that includes additional technical assistance for small and BIPOC farmers and policies to strengthen transparency and accountability at the USDA.

Land access and tenure

Yays!
All three proposals increase legal support and technical assistance for heirs’ property via the Heirs’ Property Relending Program to expand assistance in remedying title issues and resolving ownership and succession, especially for Black farmers. Sen. Stabenow’s version also includes a $10 million investment for cooperative agreements with land grant institutions to provide legal services for heirs' property and fractionated land issues. The House bill requires a biennial report on land access, including efforts at the federal, state, and private sectors that promote access to land, capital, and markets.
Nays!
Unfortunately, no proposal put forward any meaningful solutions for improving the acquisition of farmland–a major challenge for beginning, small, and BIPOC farmers given increasing consolidation and loss of farmland.

Credit/Financing

Yays!
All three farm bill plans attempt to improve farmers’ access to credit by increasing operating and ownership loan amounts for borrowers, and improving eligibility by allowing beginning farmers easier access to loans with direct loan fund set-asides. The plans will also increase microloans from $50,000 to $100,000.
Nays!
The House farm bill reduces transparency in private lending practices through the provision to require reporting to the Farm Credit Administration (FCA) rather than to the Consumer Financial Protections Bureau (CFPB). The bill also attacks USDA's authority to utilize funding from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) oftentimes used to provide emergency resources for farmers by stipulating the requirement for Congressional authorization.   

Technical assistance for small and BIPOC farmers

Yays!
For the Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach (FOTO) program, Sen. Stabenow’s proposal includes new interpretation and translation support services, and clarifies that the program may provide outreach to assist in resolving ownership and succession on farmland. It will also establish a new Office of Small Farms at USDA that would identify barriers for small farmers and operators and track application and participation rates in USDA programs.
Nays!
Neither the House farm bill nor the Senate Republican framework include any new support for FOTO or provide further technical assistance for BIPOC farmers.

Transparency and accountability

Yays!
To strengthen USDA’s transparency and accountability reports, Sen. Stabenow directs the USDA to ensure the reports are user-friendly. The framework would also require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study on whether the needs of Tribal lands and Tribal populations are being met. Both the House farm bill and Sen. Stabenow’s proposal establish an Ombudsperson position at USDA to assist farmers in navigating USDA processes, review civil rights complaints, and track USDA’s implementation of recommendations. Sen. Stabenow’s proposal also goes further, in directing USDA to take corrective action against any employee found to have engaged in discriminatory or retaliatory action, civil rights violations, etc. And includes a new provision that will require regular reviews of insurance policies and plans to ensure coverage for underserved farmers.
Nays!
While there are some directives for reports and data collection initiatives, neither the House bill nor the Senate Republican framework provides any specific accountability measures around improving equitable access to USDA programs.

Procurement

Yays!
The House bill and Sen. Stabenow’s proposal will require USDA to submit a report to Congress on the federal procurement process, which should include barriers, accessibility of commodities, diet quality, and recommendations.
Nays!
No bill or framework advances values-aligned procurement standards that prioritize worker well-being or penalize bad actors.

Research

Yays!
All three proposals put forward new investments in research, particularly in the 1890 and 1994 land grant institutions serving BIPOC communities. In Sen. Stabenow’s proposal, the 1890s will receive four new centers of excellence that focus on research issues like climate change, food safety, and value-added agriculture. These institutions will also receive $10 million in mandatory funding for their scholarship program.
Nays!
No bill or framework advances values-aligned procurement standards that prioritize worker well-being or penalize bad actors.

3. INVESTING IN COMMUNITIES, NOT CORPORATIONS

HEAL will advocate for a final Farm Bill that mirrors Sen. Stabenow’s framework in its support for local agriculture markets and food systems and measures to limit corporate control by enforcing the Packers and Stockyards Act. As of the writing of this piece, the House farm bill and Senate Republican framework do not put forward any meaningful limits on corporate control.

Limiting Corporate Control

Yays!
Recognizing that wealthy investors and large corporations benefit from federal programs at the expense of small farmers, Sen. Stabenow proposes to restrict commodity program payments from entities making $700,000 or more to discourage further investor purchases that squeeze out small, family farmers actively farming. It also establishes an Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters to investigate and prosecute violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act. Further, it requires the Economic Research Service (ERS) to publish a report on consolidation and concentration within the livestock industry and its impacts on farmers, ranchers, and consumers.
Nays!
Neither the House bill nor Senate Republican framework puts forward any provision limiting corporate control over the agriculture sector.

Local and Regional Food Economies

Yays!
To boost local food economies, Sen. Stabenow’s framework establishes at least 12 regional food business centers that support small and mid-sized farms and food businesses with business technical assistance and capacity-building activities. It removes the matching funds requirement from the Value-Added Producer Grants, the Farmers Market Promotion Program, and the Local Food Promotion Program (all of which fall under the Local Agriculture Market Program, or LAMP). This will help improve participation, particularly from limited resource applicants. It also codifies the popular Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program which facilitates food procurement from local and underserved producers and distribution to food insecure communities, with $200 million in mandatory funding. Both Stabenow’s framework and the House bill add food hubs as a new eligible entity under LAMP.
Nays!
Neither the House bill nor the Senate Republican framework provides any new initiative or investment into LAMP.

Boosting the Food Supply Chain

Yays!
Stabenow’s plan proposes new investments via the Food Supply Chain Grant Guaranteed Loan Program, which would provide funding and/or grants to assist in the purchase of equipment, leasing or purchasing of property, worker training, certification, and food safety.
Nays!
Neither the House bill nor the Senate Republican framework provides any new initiative or investment into LAMP.

4. NOURISHING PEOPLE

Overall, Stabenow’s framework improves eligibility for nutrition programs while the House bill and Senate Republican framework propose major cuts to SNAP. While both Stabenow’s framework and House bill expand access to nutrition programs for some (see below for more details), HEAL will advocate for a final Farm Bill that ensures SNAP allotments are maintained for all.

SNAP

Yays!
Sen. Stabenow’s framework and the House bill expand access to nutrition programs like SNAP for college students and individuals with drug felony convictions. They also improve access by excluding certain kinds of income from being counted as income for SNAP and by including Puerto Rican residents in the SNAP program. Both plans also increase funding for other nutrition programs like the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) making produce like fruits and vegetables eligible under the program. But the plans differ tremendously in that Sen. Stabenow’s framework maintains SNAP allotment benefits, a critical issue that has overshadowed the debate around the farm bill. Her proposal also adds a new grant program to help provide culturally relevant foods for certain communities.  
Nays!
The House farm bill and Senate Republican framework make significant cuts to SNAP by limiting future updates to the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) which is used to set SNAP benefits by accounting for inflation in the cost of food and more recently, dietary guidelines and food consumption patterns. By some accounts this cut will amount to $30 billion over the next 10 years.

5. ENSURING THE SURVIVAL OF ECOSYSTEMS AND THE PLANET

In tackling climate change, Sen. Stabenow retains funding for climate-friendly practices in conservation programs while the House bill strips climate guardrails. HEAL plans to advocate for a final farm bill that also includes mandatory funding for urban agriculture programs and federal support to tribal communities for traditional agriculture practices.

Tackling Climate Change

Yays!
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding designated for climate-related activities in conservation programs has been a major point of contention. Sen. Stabenow retained this funding, making it clear that they are to be used to implement climate-related programming. Stabenow’s proposal also expands the scope and purpose of certain USDA conservation programs to include drought resilience, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. It stipulates consultation with tribal communities on conservation practices that can receive cost-share under EQIP. The proposal will also establish a network of Climate Hubs to address the climate crisis and allow equitable access to information, and it calls for USDA to develop a methodology to measure, monitor and report greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration.
Nays!
The House farm bill and Senate Republican framework make significant cuts to SNAP by limiting future updates to the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) which is used to set SNAP benefits by accounting for inflation in the cost of food and more recently, dietary guidelines and food consumption patterns. By some accounts this cut will amount to $30 billion over the next 10 years.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)

Yays!
Sen. Stabenow’s proposal will require Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to consider traditional ecological knowledge to set new and update existing conservation practice standards. In doing so, tribal communities can receive payment for their traditional agricultural practices.
Nays!
Neither the House nor Senate Republican framework mentions any support for TEK.

Urban Agriculture

Yays!
Along with $10 million in mandatory funding, Sen. Stabenow puts into place cooperative agreements to support urban agriculture operations, including in underserved communities, to improve access to local foods and expand conservation techniques for urban agriculture and urban environmental impacts. The House bill also expands the urban agriculture program.
Nays!
Even though the House bill expands the urban agriculture program it provides no mandatory funding to operate the program. The Senate Republican framework does not prioritize urban agriculture in its proposal.

Organic Agriculture

Yays!
The Senate Republican framework is directing an efficacy study for the National Organic Certification Cost Share program, in an effort to curb the increasing cost of organic certification for organic farmers. However, in addressing increasing costs, Sen. Stabenow’s proposal increases the maximum cost-share payment to an organic farmer from $750 to $1000. It also proposes to create an Organic Agriculture Research Coordinator to coordinate all research, extension, and education activities at USDA.
Nays!
Overall, none of the proposals contain any provisions to increase set-asides for BIPOC farmers in conservation programs like CSP and EQIP, and Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) subsidies within EQIP and other conservation programs remain. Further, the House and Senate Republican efforts do little to nothing to support climate-related activity at USDA. Instead, the House bill focuses heavily on investing and expanding precision agriculture in conservation programs as an eligible practice with significant incentive payments.

It's time to pass a farm bill that works for us all!

While Sen. Stabenow’s framework puts forward proposals more aligned with HEAL’s farm bill priorities, there is still more that could be done to create a truly transformative bill, like modernizing health and safety standards in meatpacking plants and calling for a moratorium on new CAFOs. Meanwhile, the House bill and Senate Republican framework take us backward with their unwillingness to address farmers’ mounting concerns about climate change, support of initiatives that increase consolidation of farmland while limiting farmers’ access to land and credit, and place more families at risk by reducing access to nutrition with their misguided attack on SNAP.

Our alliance and members have been championing a truly transformative farm bill that supports small and BIPOC farmers, provides safe conditions for workers, addresses systemic inequities, reduces corporate consolidation, nourishes people, and protects our environment while tackling climate change. We recommend Congress move forward with a farm bill that closely mirrors the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act proposed by Sen. Stabenow. Although imperfect and does not meet all of our asks, this proposal will provide more opportunities and resources for farmers, workers, and families to thrive!
Photo by Rion Moon & Jam Rose