The 2018 farm bill was extended last November, but now that extension has expired without a clear idea of when Congress will pass a new farm bill.

“We’re hopeful that before the end of the year, we can get the farm bill done in both the House and the Senate,” said Republican U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro. 

The House bill passed committee in May but has not come up for vote on the full floor. The Senate version of the bill is still in committee.

In addition to funding supplemental nutrition assistance programs, the farm bill is crucial for many upstate farmers, Molinaro said.  

“Upstate farms especially, we know it, the high burden of costs, climate change and being prepared for changes in the climate, but also ensuring that our farmers get the same resources and the same assistance as the big Midwest states,” he said. 

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said Congress and party leaders need to put politics aside and pass an updated farm bill. 

“We are running out of time. Farmers and ranchers were told lawmakers just needed more time to pass a five-year farm bill, but once again we find ourselves in a lurch without much needed improvements to safety net and risk management programs,” he said in a statement. 

Low commodity prices, high input costs, inflation and outdated farm policy can destroy family farms, Duvall said.  

Programs included in the farm bill that halted on Oct. 1 when the extension expired include: 

  • Biobased Markets Program and Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels 

  • Several animal health programs 

  • Programs for socially disadvantaged, veteran and beginning farmers  

  • Specialty crops block grant program 

  • National organic certification cost-share program  

  • Several international programs, including Market Access and Foreign Market Development Cooperator trade promotion programs

Additionally, new enrollments to some USDA programs ended Oct. 1, including livestock projects under the Environmental Quality Incentives program and grassland conservation incentive restoration programs.  

Some programs are permanent law and will continue to operate regardless of how long it takes to pass a new farm bill or an extension. Those include SNAP, most crop insurance programs and disaster programs like livestock indemnity program and emergency assistance for livestock, according to a market analysis from the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The dairy margin coverage program, which provides financial assistance to dairy farmers, will revert to an outdated 1940s policy on Jan. 1 — often referred to as the “dairy cliff.” 

Both the House and the Senate have released drafts of the bill, but Duvall said that’s not enough.  

“All of this is forward progress, but America’s farmers and ranchers need results,” he said.