Lawmakers will mark up the House farm bill, one of the most significant pieces of agriculture legislation, on Thursday.
The legislation, which encompasses several agricultural programs, was supposed to be passed by its original deadline of Sept. 30, 2023, but was given a one-year extension. It’s generally supposed to be passed into law every five years.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-PA) released a draft of the bill Friday, but it’s expected to be scrutinized by Democrats.
The farm bill is pricey legislation — House Republicans released a $1 trillion version of the bill around the original September deadline — but is critical for the U.S.’s agriculture industry.
Here are a few reasons why this bill is important nationwide.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a popular food assistance program used by millions of people, is a large part of the farm bill’s importance. The program’s administration and budget is debated on and then set with the bill. The SNAP budget is often a topic of heated debate, with Republicans having moved to reduce it in the past and Democrats staunchly opposed to the effort.
SNAP often uses EBT cards, which households use to pay for certain food but are prevented from using to pay for other items.
The farm bill covers “programs that help foster rural economic growth through rural business and community development (including farm businesses) as well as rural housing, and infrastructure.”
One part of the 2018 bill included the expansion of the Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program, which provides assistance toward telecommunications/broadband access in rural areas.
“Without a reliable internet connection, precision agriculture just doesn’t work,” Sen. John Thune (R-SD) said in a statement in March 2023. “And next-generation precision ag technologies will need stronger connectivity.”
Thune’s state of South Dakota is especially affected. Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) said that in half of the state’s rural counties, 25% of residents don’t have adequate internet access, and that number is as high as 50% in some areas.
Under a horticulture section in the 2018 Farm Bill, the legislation covered farmers markets and local food programs and ”funding for research and infrastructure for fruits, vegetables and other horticultural crops, and organic farming and certification programs.”
Just over 62% of consumers make a conscious effort to buy locally grown food, according to a 2023 survey, and 74% of households with children.
This part of the bill encompasses many healthy food options for people and was first included in 2008. Farmers markets accounted for 59% of direct-to-consumer sales reported by the USDA in 2020, and 78% of farms selling directly to consumers sold all of their goods to consumers within a 100-mile radius.
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The farm bill has previously covered the protection of natural resources in the U.S., with programs helping farmers to be proactive in maintaining forest resources and conserving other resources based on their land.
A previous survey found a majority of voters consider themselves “conservationists,” making the conservation issue addressed by the bill an important one.
Given the wide-ranging effect of the bill, Thursday’s markup will be critical for shaping the legislation.