Issue in focus: 2024 Farm Bill

Image credit: Getty Images

Date Posted: April 10, 2024

Michigan Farm Bureau

Last updated: May 28, 2024

The farm bill touches everyone in Michigan. While its primary purpose is assisting farmers, it also supports infrastructure and economic development in rural communities, incentivizes maintenance of good conservation practices, and helps provide access to food for those less fortunate.

Farm bills include sections, commonly referred to as titles, on commodity programs, trade, rural development, farm credit, conservation, agricultural research, food and nutrition programs, marketing, and more.

Current Status

The U.S. House and Senate continue to work on completing a farm bill after extending the previous bill through September 30, 2024. The farm bill is a critical tool for ensuring our nation’s food supply remains secure. Funding for this comprehensive package includes risk management tools for farmers, access to nutrition for low-income families, conservation programs and investments in agricultural research.

Farm Bureau continues to advocate for Congress to complete a new farm bill ahead of the November election, and in a bipartisan fashion to give farmers the long-term certainty needed to make business decisions.

On May 23, the House Agriculture Committee passed its version of the farm bill, marking an important first step to getting the legislation finalized.

In early May, Chairwoman Stabenow released a 94 page section-by-section summary of a farm bill titled, The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act of 2024. The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry has not scheduled a committee markup of the legislation.

Farmer involvement

It’s critical that farmers continue communicating our farm bill priorities:

Increase baseline funding commitments to farm programs.
Maintain a unified farm bill which includes nutrition programs and farm programs together.
Prioritize funding for risk management tools which include both federal crop insurance and commodity and dairy programs.
Maintaining funding for federal voluntary conservation programs which maintain environmental benefits and prioritize working lands over retirement lands programs.
Ensure adequate USDA staffing capacity and technical assistance.